Chaos Bound
by BettyBest2
Summary: Sonic has dreamed of meeting his Chaos Bound his whole life, but with no luck and at age 19, he finally decides to give up… until he meets Shadow. No amount of warnings of how they should stay away from each other is going to stop him from getting what he wants… Nothing bad will happen in the end, right? Nah, he's Sonic the Hedgehog. Nothing ever goes wrong.
1. It'll Happen Sooner Than You Think

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~1~**

 **-It'll Happen Sooner Than You Think-**

My emerald eyes gaze up through the thick branches of the tree I currently rest in, taking in the beauty of the afternoon sky. It's been six months since we arrived back on Mobius, three since Chris returned back home to his planet. Not much has changed, really.

Being back on Mobius is a bit different than Earth. I mean, we have a few shopping areas and stores scattered about, but there's a lot more wild life and wide open areas. We Mobians tend to pick out where we want to stay and build our own homes, so you'll see a lot of unique buildings around compared to those on Earth.

I hop down from the tall tree, landing lightly on my feet, and take a deep breath of fresh air. "Time to get back to Tails' place. I'm sure he's wondering where I've been," I voice aloud to the nature around me. With the speed I'm know for, I take off towards the only beach on Westside Island. Although I _loathe_ water, I don't mind hanging out at the beach sometimes.

Skidding to a stop on the porch of the familiar house/workshop, I simply walk in like I own the place. Before I can call a greeting to Tails, though, I'm tackle-hugged to the ground by a bundle a pink quills. _Oh, joy_.

"Oh, Sonic! I'm so happy you're here! I have some great news! I just got my Bound Mark!" she shouts excitedly in my ear while hugging me tightly around the waist. My struggles to break free cease at those words.

 _Bound Mark._

That's why I was gone for a few days longer than usual. After the whole Metarex incident, I gave Tails the white seed I found where Cosmo was last… _alive_ and he planted it as soon as we arrived back on Mobius. Well, it appears to be on its way to forming a giant rose bud, and I mean _giant._ Tails and I were at first confused by this until he came up with the idea that maybe, just maybe, this specific seed would bring Cosmo back.

That's when he got his Mark. On his lower back is the picture of a blossoming red rose.

Chaos Bound are mates who are perfectly suited for each other based on their Chaos energy. We know Chaos energy can be very powerful in Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, but it's also like a representation of your personality when it comes to Mobians. Everyone is born with someone who complements their personality completely.

Every Mobian receives their Bound Mark at some point in their lives, usually when one has come in contact with one's Chaos Bound. It represents one's destined mate. Some Mobians are lucky enough to find their significant other, but others never do and end up settling with another who makes them happy, just not as happy as if they had been with their destined. The fact that Tails is paired up with someone plant-based is pretty unusual, but from what I felt during that final battle with the Metarex, she does have Chaos energy, oddly enough.

When his Mark showed up, I decided to take my leave and give him some time alone, and at the same time I'd think about things on my own. I've always known about Bound Marks—I mean _every_ Mobian does—but what bothered me is: where is my Mark? I mean, I've thought of this for as long as I can remember. My mate would be… perfect. Someone that can keep up with me. A person that will love me for _me_. I take care of the world; it's only fair that I'd get someone to look after me for a change.

But at age nineteen, I'm really starting to lose hope, which is really unusual for me. Maybe there just isn't anyone—

"HELLO! Mobius to Sonic!" Amy's voice suddenly brings me crashing from my thoughts and to the cozy living room we currently occupy.

"Huh…? Oh, yeah! So what does yours look like?" I ask simply out of politeness, since I know for a fact we aren't a match.

She finally gets off of me and sits on her knees with an excited smile on her face. "It's on my shoulder! Here—have a look." She turns to the side, baring her right shoulder and parting her pink fur so that I can see. I scoot closer and notice immediately what looks like the shape of a green hedgehog's head whose quills look wicked and dangerous in their curved state. Interesting.

"So are we mates, Sonic? I mean, I can tell this is a hedgehog, so maybe—"

"No, Ames, we're not mates," I interrupt before she can try and tell me otherwise.

Her expression turns downcast. "But why?" she asks desperately.

"First off, I'm not green. Second, I don't have my Mark yet, and I would by now if we were mates. Sorry, Ames, but look on the bright side. You know he's a hedgehog and he's green. Who knows? You might meet him sooner than you think," I try to sooth her and pray that she lets the idea of us being together finally go.

She looks at me sadly with her forest green eyes before nodding slowly. "…okay."

 _Phew._

"But!" _Damn._ "Promise me that if I don't find him one day that we'll be together, okay?" she compromises instead.

I look down for a long moment, considering. "…fine, but that's only if I don't find my mate, and we each have to try our best to find the person we're destined to be with first."

She throws her arms around me for another one of her hugs, nuzzling happily into me while I awkwardly hug her back. "Oh, thanks, Sonic!"

 _What have I gotten myself into?_

"Hey, guys? Um, what's going on?" Tails' voice thankfully saves me from having to stay in this position any longer. I quickly dislodge the pink furry body from on top of me and stand up to move over to his location by the stairs.

"Oh, Amy was just showing me her Bound Mark. How have you been, little buddy?" I question while ruffling his bangs affectionately.

He giggles and swats my hand away playfully before answering with joy. "I've been well. The rosebud seems to be developing more fully. She should be ready to come out in a couple weeks' time," he tells me with absolute happiness in his bright blue eyes.

"Well, I'm happy for you, buddy," I tell him sincerely.

"Me too! I can't wait for Cosmo to come back. She was such a joy to be around," Amy pipes up from her place on the dark brown couch.

Tails turns a smile in Amy's direction before asking me a question I'd hoped that I had dodged. "So where were you for the past few days? I was thinking that maybe Eggman had attacked or something."

I move my hand up to my head quills in slight nervousness. "Nah. You know ol' Egghead is still recovering from the beating we gave him last week."

His inquisitive baby-blues turn to me in curiosity. "Then what happened?"

"I just needed a little time to think, that's all," I say while turning my emerald irises up to look at the ceiling instead of his piercing eyes.

"Really? What about?" Amy asks, wanting to know what her hero could possibly spend his time thinking about.

"Oh! Uh, just, uh… just about… Knuckles!" I shout in the end.

The looks I receive are downright weird.

"You were gone for days… thinking about _Knuckles?_ " Tails asks awkwardly.

"Well, yeah. I mean _no_. I was thinking about how he and Rouge are mates. We kind of all saw that one coming," I hastily try to correct, feeling my cheeks turn a light shade of red.

Both of their mouths form an "O" before they chime in. "Yeah, I always thought their arguing was really flirting in disguise," Amy says with a hint of smugness in her tone.

"Yeah, and Knuckles always used to blush all the time around Rouge," Tails points out with a finger to his chin.

"So I was just wondering how well things were going with them, is all. No need to worry about me. Umm, Amy, want to go to the shopping district with me for a bit?" I hastily ask, trying to get their thoughts off of the strangeness of the situation.

She springs up in her seat with eagerness. "Sure!"

It's about two seconds later that I realize what a horrible position this could be. Hoping to rectify the situation, I turn my attention to Tails, who's staring at me with amusement. "Hey, Tails, wanna come with?"

His eyes twinkle with mirth as he answers, "Actually, I wanted to make more adjustments on the X Tornado, so I'm pretty busy, but I'm sure you guys will have fun."

Looking at the smiling girl clinging to my arm makes me _highly_ doubt that.

~XxX~

"Uhh, Ames? You do know we're going as friends, right?" I ask her hesitantly while slowly trying to escape her clingy grip.

"Well, of course, silly! We made a deal, right?" she answers, seemingly not getting my message.

"Yeah. So can you let me go?"

We stop on the gravely path set along through the unique buildings that sell clothes of all types, food of all sorts, and all kinds of gadgets you might need.

She looks at me then takes a step away with a sheepish smile. "Oh. Right. Sorry. It's going to take a while to get used to." She chuckles nervously as we start walking again.

"It's fine. So do you see anything you like so far?" I inquire while looking at the many different kinds of jewelry on the stand near us. _She'll definitely want something from here._

The currency on Mobius is Rings, unlike on Earth. Most Mobians work to earn them, but Tails and I simply travel through the more hazardous parts of the Zones to collect them, as there are so many scattered about. I'm pretty sure a lot of others would do the same as well, but they see it as dangerous and only crazy people would do it.

"Oh, this is so pretty!" Amy squeals as she fawns over a specific piece of jewelry. I shake my head and smile gently as I look at her. She may be seventeen, but she's still a girl. I'm honestly willing to buy it for her, but I have to _emphasize_ that it's just a gift from a friend.

Just as I make my way over to where she's standing, a form bumps into me.

"Whoa! I'm so—" The word dies on my lips as I get a look at the furred being in front of me. His pelt is the color of the darkest midnight, highlighted in red so deep it resembles that of fresh blood trailing along his uniquely upturned quills, arms, and legs. I ogle the fluffy white tuft of fur on his chest that seems to completely contrast the dark aura he seems to give off. I manage to take in a breath to avoid suffocating and look into his eyes—his very crimson eyes.

Feeling at a loss for words as we maintain eye contact, I actually feel my knees go weak when he speaks instead. "I apologize. I wasn't looking where I was going."

 _So deep and smooth… almost silk-like._ I nod in response and feel a great disappointment when he abruptly turns away from me and continues on his path. I try to see where he goes, but he seems to vanish into thin air.

"Sonic!" Amy's voice pulls me back to Mobius, and I turn to see that she holds an intricately designed pink-and-green necklace gingerly in her hands. "Who was that guy?" she asks while nodding her head in the general direction he disappeared off in.

"I don't know." My voice sounds soft as I think of his figure.

"Well, he looked creepy. I think you should stay away from him if you see him again," she tells me sternly like a mother hen.

 _Creepy? I thought he looked handsome…._ I blush hotly at the thought and shake my head to be rid of it. _What's up with that?_ _I don't even know him…_ I decide to ask about the necklace to bring her thoughts away from the mysterious obsidian hedgehog. "So is that the one you want?"

She looks down at the pink-and-green jewels in her hand as if just remembering why we're here. "Oh, yeah! Don't you think it's pretty?" she exclaims while holding it closer to my face.

I take a step back in apprehension as I try to think of an intelligent response. "Uh… well… I-I—"

"It is, isn't it? Help me try it on, okay?" she demands while handing me the precious jewelry.

I gently clasp the necklace in place around her fragile neck when she turns around for me to do so. When she faces me again her smile is bright and radiant. "So how does it look?"

I smile and rub the top of her head like I do with Tails as I answer. "It looks perfect."

"Aww, thanks, Sonic!" She blushes with joy before her visage changes and a gasp of surprise escapes her. "Sonic, what's wrong? Your fur near your neck looks really irritated!" she voices in worry while taking a closer inspection at the indicated area.

I arch an eyebrow and rub the general area, having not felt anything painful in that place for it to be aggravated. "Huh. That's odd. It doesn't feel bad. I'll just take a look when I get back to the workshop, okay?" I try to reassure her while slowly guiding her towards the vendor.

"If you're sure…" she trails off hesitantly when we reach the friendly female wolf. As I hand over the Rings, I can't help but take a last glance at where I last saw him. _I'm going to find you one day, and when I do… I'm going to learn everything about you._

* * *

The story has finally arrived! ^_^ This chapter is mostly an introduction to Sonic and Shadow will be getting the same treatment next chapter! _  
_

Thanks for tuning in and giving this story a shot! Next chapter will be up next week :)

Oh and just in case you haven't checked my profile, I have a completed short story posted on Sonadow* _ **dot**_ *com called **_Forever In Denial_**. So go check it out if you want!


	2. The Awakening Of Someone Long Forgotten

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~2~**

 **-The Awakening Of Someone Long Forgotten-**

I get out of sight as fast as I possibly can then simply Chaos Control away, surely scaring the Mobians that were around at the time. I sigh and gaze around the small yet open household I discovered nearly a week ago. Clearly abandoned with how much dust covered every inch of the place, the rundown building served as the perfect place for me to claim as my own for the time being.

With a growl, I march towards the single bedroom and flop back on the bed. _Of all the goddamned places on this planet he could be, he had to be there. That blue hedgehog…._ I let out a sigh as I recall the meeting. If I hadn't been so flustered over my findings at the library, I most likely wouldn't have run into him in the first place.

His fur looked so soft like that of the finest silk that I was positively _dying_ to run my fingers through it; and his eyes, brighter than the purest of emeralds, practically set my soul ablaze. There was definitely a connection between us. Maybe the Doctor was right, and if that's true, then… I must stay away from him.

 _Quantum amounts of gas fill the metallic lab as a chamber begins to open. An evil genius with a heinous smile gazes in glee as the creature begins to emerge from its confines._

 _Far smaller than the Doctor assumed him to be, the Ultimate Lifeform, a black-and-red-streaked hedgehog kneels before him and speaks his gratitude. "Thank you for releasing me."_

" _So you're the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow, correct?" the mad scientist asks for assurance._

 _The kneeling hedgehog rises and speaks. "Yes. Created by Professor Gerald Robotnik aboard the Space Colony ARK." The hedgehog's crimson eyes gaze around critically before he asks, "If I may ask, where are we exactly?"_

 _The Doctor places his hands behind his back as he relaxes his posture a bit. "Ah, yes, you see, this is my hidden lair. I am Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, evil genius extraordinaire! We are no longer on the planet called Earth. This planet is known as Mobius, located in a parallel universe to be exact."_

 _Shock is the main feeling that consumes the bio-hog, but he hides it pretty well. "You're related to the Professor? And Mobius? Why am I here exactly? I had a duty to fulfill on Earth…" he demands in an agitated voice in an attempt to not let his true emotions show._

" _Yes, Professor Gerald is my grandfather, a person whose genius I've always admired. As for you being on Mobius, I was actually planning on seeking your assistance while we were still on Earth, but the whole 'time ceasing to exist' thing got in the way, so I took you along with me when we were forced to return. Then the whole 'Metarex' bit happened and delayed my plans further. Believe it or not, if Rouge hadn't stumbled upon your capsule you might still be imprisoned in it right now." He lets out a sheepish chuckle at that._

' _So he just sees me as a tool in his plans. No matter. I'll help him once, then figure out a way to uphold Maria's wish…' the dark hedgehog compromises before a thought occurs to him. "Doctor. How long has it been since I was sealed in that capsule?"_

 _The genius rubs his chin as if in thought, but really the answer has already come to him. "About fifty years."_

" _Fifty…" His word trails off somberly. 'Since Maria…'_

 _The creation gives a sigh before looking up at Dr. Eggman. "Since you have released me, I will help you with one thing."_

 _The Doctor looks as if things are beginning to fall right into place. "Why, thank you, Shadow. I was hoping you would come to my aid. You see, upon arrival back on Mobius, I sent a few bots to search for Chaos Emeralds in hopes of getting ahead of that blasted hedgehog!" The outburst causes Shadow's eyebrow to rise and Eggman to clear his throat. "Well, anyway, one of my robots managed to record something from a previously untouched location in Aquatic Ruin."_

 _The large human walks up to a console and taps a few buttons to bring up an image of the spoken ruins. "This here is a prophecy. Thanks to my highly advanced machines, I've been able to translate this as follows: 'When 3 Powers are brought together, an army undefeated shall be created. All are Chaos, but two are complete opposites. The two must be united as one, while the last is unique in the most obvious of ways.'"_

' _An army undefeated?' Shadow ponders while crossing his arms across his chest._

" _So, you see, I believe I've figured out two of the Powers already. Two are complete opposites… that Blue Hedgehog! I'm confident his Chaos energy is so disgustingly positive that he's one of the ones the prophecy spoke of!" He whirls on the stoic hedgehog in the room and points a finger dramatically at him._

" _Shadow! With your powers, would you ever use them for evil?"_

 _Said hedgehog looks down at his hands in question and states hesitantly, "I-it depends upon the situation."_

" _Aha! And that proves it! That blue rodent wouldn't even give it a second thought. On this planet each Mobian has a Chaos Bound, a mate, if you will, and you two are definitely a match made in paradise." He chuckles with maniacal glee, forcing the creation to voice a question he already knows the answer to._

" _Doctor, are you asking me to help you create this 'undefeated army' and then, perhaps, gain control over this world?" The inquiry is asked with a knowing smirk._

" _You're right, Shadow. That's exactly what I—"_

" _Then my answer is no," Shadow answers calmly without hesitance._

" _No? What do you mean 'no'?" the Doctor asks, anger starting to rise in his voice._

" _Exactly what it implies. I have no intentions of going back on my word to Maria. I may not be on Earth, but she wouldn't want me to hurt innocent people." His explanation is clear and concise, punctuated by the sound of his hover shoes as they click against the floor, announcing his exit._

 _Ignoring the evil scientist's shouts of protest, and with speed quite similar to that of the Blue Blur, Shadow exits the premises in order to start familiarizing himself with the planet._

 _With an angry growl Eggman slams his fist on the console in frustration. "This is only a minor setback! My plans will succeed regardless. I'll make sure of it."_

I sigh and rub my head quills as the memory fades away. If this prophecy is true, then I must stay away from him. I can't allow destruction to befall the lives of the innocent. Maria would want me to do whatever I could to help people be happy, and if that means I can't be with my supposed significant other, then I'll do so. I'll do so until I can figure out a way to stop the Doctor's malicious plans.

I stand and take a look out of the window at the vast open skies and surrounding pine trees. It took most of the week to clean this furnished place of dust, which is the reason why it took so long to go out researching. Hill Top Zone, as I've learned it's called, is a pretty nice place to stay due to its low population. Unfortunately, it does not have the books I was searching for, forcing me to scour the other Zones to find the one I needed.

After coming up empty in Casino Night Zone, I'd decided to think logically about the situation. Obviously the most populated Zone is Emerald Hill Zone, with its lush environments and something about a hero living nearby.

Making haste, I had traveled to the Zone in hopes of finding out more about Chaos Bound. If I was to stay away from my supposed mate, then I had to learn more about the aspects that go along with it.

 _The warm spring air sways the nearby palm trees as I walk towards the large brown building with "Emerald Hill Library" emblazoned on the front. I open one of the large doors and feel my eyes adjust to the change in light as I scan the building full of books._

 _Hoping their system of organization is similar to that of which I studied on Earth, I begin to look around. Looking along the shelves, I quickly gather that books are similarly grouped, making things a lot easier for me._

Okay, so I need to find something on the study of Mobians. That should have some information on Chaos Bound… _My search is swift and thorough, gaining stares from the Mobians around me. I simply ignore them and pull out the book that I need, far too used to being stared at due to my time aboard the ARK._

 _I find a secluded seat and open the book, A Complete Study on the Beings of Mobius, to its Table of Contents. Chaos Bound is one of the first chapters with three subheadings: Mating Habits, General Bonded Pair, and Dominate/Submissive Pairing. Quirking an eyebrow at that last one, I quickly turn to chapter three and start taking in information._

' _Every Mobian has Chaos energy…'_ Yes, I know. It's so odd to sense so much of it at once.

'… _the energy represents their personalities and also make it so that an opposing energy to their own can be found in another. There have been theories created that a couple whose energies are complete opposites—Positive and Negative—could be born, but the odds are slim to none. For a Mobian to be born with pure Chaos energy, they would have to be substantially powerful, which as I stated before has a slim possibility of occurring.'_ You haven't met me. _The shine of one of my inhibitor rings catches my eye and I adjust my thoughts._ Right: born, not created. But still… what about that blue hedgehog?

' _Usually when a Bound pair make contact a Mark will appear somewhere on their body. It represents their mate—'_ So wait. If I ever meet that hedgehog, I'll get some kind of Mark from it? _I decide to flip ahead, since this isn't giving me a clue on what "united as one" could possibly mean yet._

 _Skimming the pages, I realize I'm in one of the subheading sections._ The mating habits of Dominate/Submissive… I was curious about what this could be about. _Randomly choosing a place to start, I let my mind soak in the knowledge this book has to offer._

 _'If the Bound pair has not come into contact with each other, then it is obvious that their Season will have no effects on them; however, if they have, then regardless of if they are the same species or not, the pair will find the urge to copulate quite difficult to ignore.'_ Dear God! _I nearly slam the book right there and then._ Mating. How could I be so ignorant? _I never gave it much thought when I first learned about it aboard the ARK, seeing as I was the only one that looked like me._ _I give a dreaded sigh as I glance back down at the book._ _I was taught to find out all the information before I do anything to rash—not that I paid that much attention—but this is actually important._

' _When the Dominate takes his Submissive, he usually leaves a bite mark of claim that allows a bit of the pair's Chaos essences to mix as well as—'_ Okay, I'm done. _I slam the book closed and rub my face tiredly._ Leave a bite mark of claim? What are we, animals? _A female squirrel and male rabbit walk by my table, talking casually in lowered voices._ Forget it.

 _I take the book and put it back in its place and make my way towards the exit. I finally decide to acknowledge the stares then and realize that everyone around me isn't looking at me with fear or contempt, but out of pure curiosity and… acceptance. I'm actually stunned for a moment as I realize this. The only two people who looked at me without negative emotions were the Professor and Maria. To actually be accepted by these people, is… kind of… nice._

So apparently that hedgehog and I would have to… couple in order to become one. It's the only thing I can gather from that text. It's obvious that the mixing of our energies would make us almost like a single being.

A particular part of the text comes back to mind and I head to the small bathroom in order to see if my theory is correct. _I should have some kind of Mark, if this whole thing really is true._ I stare at my stoic form in the shiny reflective mirror, looking for anything odd or different about myself.

I don't really notice anything (not like I'm looking very hard, due to my denial), so I turn to leave, thinking it's all just some big misunderstanding, when I notice it. The blue is vibrant and easy to see through the fur of my lower stomach when my torso is turned slightly.

I face forward again and move my hand to part the fur where I saw the blue and stare intently at the image of a hedgehog's head: the quills are long and curved, reminding me so vividly of that hedgehog. The eyes even look mischievous and full of life like his.

I sigh in resignation as I turn and leave the room, shutting off the lights behind me. _So it's true. We are Chaos Bound. This just means that I really have to keep away from him now._

I ignore the stabbing pain this thought causes and exit the bedroom, then living room, and head outside of my cabin-like home. I have three major things to be done. Number one: stay away from my mate. Two: figure out who possess the third Chaos energy. Finally: start collecting Chaos Emeralds.

I take out the emerald-colored one from my head quills, which I found right here in this Zone, and decide to go Emerald hunting first. I don't know if the Doctor has any, so I don't know if I'm at an advantage or not. I shrug my shoulders and replace the Emerald. It doesn't really matter. It'll keep my mind occupied and me away from that hedgehog, which is a plus.

My shoes activate, and with a familiar _whoosh_ I blast through the mountains on my way to the next Zone.

* * *

A lot of flashback in this one, but no worries because the action starts next chapter! Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favs! They're greatly appreciated!


	3. And So The Adventure Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

 **Edit:8/25/15** Thanks to **Guest** for pointing out something I forgot to fix a while back. ^^' When you're working so far ahead in a story you sometimes forget to fix the little things. It's a minor detail change, nothing that affects the story or anything.

* * *

 **~3~**

 **-And So The Adventure Begins-**

I continue to finger the newly formed Mark near my collarbone as I stare in the clear mirror of my bathroom. After arriving home yesterday and assuring Amy that I would be fine so that she'd go home, I went upstairs to see what all the fuss was about.

The fur near my neck really _did_ look agitated, and with a part to my fur I'd figured out why. A swirl with six wild spikes greeted my astonished eyes. The color of blood fading into pitch black—I'd finally laid eyes on my coveted Bound Mark.

 _I have a mate._

That's the only thought that's been going through my head all night. I don't even try to wipe the goofy grin off my face as I trace the now familiar shape of my Mark. _I have a mate… but who?_ Immediately the image of that dark, mysterious black-and-red streaked hedgehog appears in my mind.

 _Could he be…?_ The feel of my racing heart as well as the image of how hot my face is getting alerts me to the fact of just how flustered I really am.

The silly, almost love-struck smile dies slowly from my visage when I truly remember how the encounter went, though. _He seemed cold and distant like a stranger, not like someone who might've just met the person they're destined to be with._

Feeling truly troubled about the situation but not sure of how to go about solving it, I'm just beginning to consider talking to Tails when his voice filters into the room.

"Yo, Sonic!"

I turn and exit the bathroom, flipping off the lights as I do so. "Yeah, what's up?" I call back loudly enough so that he can hear me from downstairs.

"Can you come down? I want to talk to you about something," he asks nicely while still maintaining the loud volume of the conversation.

"Sure thing, bud!" I leave my room in a sonic second, arriving in the living room expecting to see my lil' bro there but only seeing the brown couch and loveseat, small television, side table, and lamp. "Hmm. Must be in the workshop." I'm about to head down there when our front door slams open from a panicked Amy screaming my name.

" _Sonic!"_ Her clinging form makes me consider the fact that this might actually be serious.

"What's up, Ames?" I ask, feeling a bit concerned.

"There's this guy! I think he's following m—"

The bang of the door as it slams open _again_ draws attention to the newcomer, or should I say intruder. _Doesn't anybody know how to knock nowadays?_ "Who are you and what are you doing here?" I demand as I start to take in his appearance, and boy is it _eerie._

He looks like me. Like seriously, we could be twins. His fur is emerald green and his eyes are bright blue, clearly showing mischief in their depths. We have the same faun highlights, only the fur on his stomach is marred by two ragged scars, making me wonder if he was somehow mauled by a none anthropomorphic Mobian. _Usually they aren't vicious, so I wonder if they were provoked…_ His teeth, though, seem a little on the sharp side, oddly enough. All in all, it's a pretty creepy meeting.

"Well, hello to you, too. Gettin' straight to business, I see. The name's Scourge. Nice to meet ya," he announces with a gleam to his smirk.

"That explains the 'who' not the 'why,' pal," I point out while taking a step closer and subconsciously putting myself in between Amy and the possible threat.

I can see him bristle at my defensive stance and slowly I feel the rising of adrenaline beginning to seep into my bloodstream. "I'm actually here to see her. We sorta had a meeting yesterday."

Not really believing his story, I get ready to retort when Amy hesitantly steps forward and speaks. "I remember you now… I saw you at the shopping district yesterday." Her voice is filled with hesitant curiosity as she recalls the encounter.

I turn to her and arch an eyebrow. "I don't remember seeing this guy there."

She actually looks sheepish as she explains. "Well, I actually went there before you asked me to go yesterday…"

I chuckle as I roll my eyes lightly. _Girls and their shopping._ I see Amy's eyes return to the green hedgehog when she says in a slight reprimanding tone, "I was minding my own business when I saw you trying to make off with some food."

Scourge holds his hands up in mock surrender as he responds with, "Hey, a guy's got to do what he can to survive. I actually expected ya to call for help, but you didn't. Why?" He stares intently in her direction, and I suddenly feel like I'm intruding on an intimate conversation. _Weird…_

"Well, I-I don't know. I just couldn't…" Her voice trails off as she rubs her right shoulder. I look back at Scourge as I remember her Mark. _A green hedgehog… No wonder Ames was so attracted to me. Her Chaos Bound looks uncannily like me._

"In any case, I think it has something to do with this Mark I got not long after." He punctuates his statement by rolling up the sleeve of his leather jacket—one of the only things that really separate our appearances—and shows off an intricately designed hammer that looks remarkably like Amy's Piko Piko hammer on his left wrist.

A gasp leaves my friend's lips as she takes a step closer to get a better look before showing her Mark to Scourge as well. I walk towards the entrance of the stairwell to the workshop to give them a bit of privacy and notice a hidden figure watching things play out.

"So how long have you been here?" I ask out of curiosity.

"Since I heard the scream. I thought I'd stay here, and if a surprise ambush was needed I could lend a hand," Tails responds while still looking at the two with a happy smile.

I ruffle the fringe on his head as I chuckle. "Always thinking ahead, huh, lil' buddy?"

" _Sonic!_ " Tails laughs as I take him into a one-armed hug.

"Sorry to interrupt, boys, but I'd like to steal what's mine and get to know her better, if you don't mind." The sound of Scourge's voice brings us from our laughter, and I turn to see Amy wrapped securely in the arm of her mate with a blush on her face.

"Uh, sure thing. By the way, I'm Sonic, and this is my little bro, Tails," I tell him after remembering I hadn't introduced myself.

"Yeah, I know. You'd have to be livin' under a rock not to know who Mobius' heroes are," he informs us with a smirk.

Tails rubs his neck self-consciously as his tails swish in nervousness. _Yeah, I tend to forget the fame sometimes…_

"I guess our deal's off, huh, Sonic?" Amy tells me with an amazed look. I sort of understand where she's coming from. I never thought I'd see the day when she'd stop chasing me, but I knew once she found who she was Bound to, that would all change.

"Yep. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Just get out of here and get to know him," I tell her encouragingly.

She nods in understanding before waving on their way out. "Okay, see you later, guys!"

Silence settles in the room for a moment before I turn to my twin-tailed brother as I recall his earlier wish to speak with me. "So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

He seems to rub his chin for a moment before he exclaims, "Oh, yeah! Could you come down to the workshop for a bit? It'll be easier to discuss it down there."

I simply nod and follow him down the steps into the wide-open metallic room with tools, metal, and machines scattered about. Sitting near one of the windows is the growing bud housing Cosmo. The orange fox moves to his chair in front of a large computer monitor while I lean against the desk near him.

"Sonic? What's wrong? Something's been bothering you for the past few days. I know you disappearing for a few days wasn't really just about you thinking of Knuckles. So tell me the truth," Tails urges me with piercing blue eyes, seeking an honest answer.

 _I should have known he would have sensed something off about me._ I turn to him with a tired look. "I can never get anything past you, huh?"

He doesn't look happy that he was right. "I think I know what this is about. Everyone else has found their Chaos Bound, and yet you haven't." His eyes look sad and full of sympathy as he gazes at me, his tails sagging on each side of his chair. "I know how much you've wanted this. Actually, you've wanted this more than _any_ of us, and I know it's been a long time, but, Sonic, please don't give up. It'll happen for you, I know it… You deserve it." He whispers the last part and I nearly miss it, but the sentiment warms me all the same.

"Well, you were a little late on that, buddy. I had actually given up by the time I came back from my little trip," I decide to inform him.

" _Had_ given up. That means you've changed your mind." He doesn't ask, prompting me to explain.

I lift my hand to my collarbone almost absentmindedly. "Uh, yeah…"

His eyes widen with shock then pure joy as he jumps from his seat to get closer to me. "You got your Mark? When? Why didn't you tell me? Can I see? Do you know who she is? Why haven't you gone after her yet?" His questions are rapid and fast, and they seem to register in my mind slowly, one-by-one, allowing me to come up with the answers.

"Yes, I got my Mark. I got it yesterday when I was at the district with Amy. Sure…" I trail off there because his next question really seems to _convey_ in my mind. As Tails takes a look at the crimson-bleeding-to-black-spiked swirl, my thoughts decide to helpfully enlighten me, ' _Your mate isn't a she.'_ The entire time it never once occurred to me. All I could think about when picturing that dark, mysterious hedgehog was Mate, Mate, and _Mate._

I refocus on Tails, who's now looking for the remaining answers, and decide to just answer honestly. "Well, I know who he is by appearance, yeah."

"Okay? So why aren't you trying… to find… him… oh. _Oh."_ For a moment I think I've broken him, because he hasn't blinked or even seemed to breathe.

I reach to grab his shoulders in hopes of reconnecting him with reality when his cerulean eyes land on me again. "Oh, okay. Well, I guess this is a _really_ rare situation, but it's fine. I mean, you found your Chaos Bound! Why don't you seem so happy about it?" He genuinely looks befuddled, and it causes me to remember why the situation isn't exactly a happy one.

"Well, ya see, when we met yesterday, I was completely tongue-tied. You know I'm not afraid to say what I'm thinking, but with him… my mind just got all fuzzy. I've never felt that way around someone before. There was this instant…"

"Connection," Tails fills in with understanding.

I nod sheepishly with a blush. "Yeah. He, on the other hand, didn't seem to have the same feeling," I mutter dejectedly. "He was indifferent. After we bumped into each other, he apologized, turned, and kept on his path. I wanted to follow him, but I was with Amy, so you know how that went."

"Well, don't stress out about it right now. Things will work out. I promise." He gives me an optimistic smile that's pretty hard not to return.

"Okay, bro." _I really feel like running after such heavy thoughts. The wind will help clear my head…_ "Hey, Tails? Was that all you wanted to talk about? Because I was thinking about taking a run," I question, suddenly feeling very antsy to stretch my legs.

His eyes widen in remembrance before he speaks. "Oh! That was something I wanted to talk to you about too, but this other thing involves Eggman."

My posture shifts slightly into serious-mode at the scientist's name.

"We haven't heard anything from him since we've returned to Mobius, and that could be a really bad thing. So I was thinking we should start collecting the Chaos Emeralds, since his plans tend to always somehow involve them," the twin-tailed fox suggests while reaching for a yellow handheld device I recognize as what he uses to detect Emeralds.

 _An adventure… even better._ "When do we leave?" I ask, ready to get a move on.

"The sooner the better," Tails says, sharing my enthusiasm.

"Well, come on!" I exclaim and head over to the red-and-silver biplane facing its only exit to the workshop. Climbing on the wings, I wait for Tails to take his place in the pilot's seat.

Before he actually does, I watch as he pads over to the large bud. "I'll be back soon, Cosmo." His tone is soft and affectionate, bringing a small smile to my lips.

He soon hops into his seat, his bushy tails behind him for extra comfort, and starts the engine. "All right, let's go!" The hanger doors begin to open slowly, allowing the bright sun to shift the entire room into near-darkness due to the contrast in light.

I allow the spring air to envelop me as the Tornado starts down the runway. The end of the runway approaches, but the plane pulls up, letting the concrete turn into sparkling, vibrant blue water.

"Okay, so we already got the light blue Emerald here in Emerald Hill Zone back when we arrived back on Mobius, so the next place to check is Chemical Plant. I'm hoping the Emeralds didn't scatter too far and they're just in the Zones of this island," I hear Tails explain over the roar of the engine and wind.

I rub my chin in thought. "Hmm. An adventure through Westside Island again. That sounds pretty interesting. Especially since things have changed so much over the years."

"Yeah, I know!" I can hear his excitement even over the force of the currents.

"So how long is this going to take?" I decide to ask, feeling restlessness starting to creep up.

"Well, as it's afternoon, we should be getting there by… hmm… maybe evening," he answers, sounding unperturbed.

" _Evening!_ But that's hours from now!" I start to whine childishly.

"Sonic, this is a large island—it takes time to get between Zones. You know that," my little brother scolds.

I cross my arms as I pout, though I would never admit it. "Yeah… Well, I think I'm going to rest until we get there, okay?" I concede while lying down on the wings.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. I'll wake you up before landing."

I stifle a yawn and close my tired green eyes. _I guess last night's thinking fest is starting to catch up with me._ As consciousness starts to leave me, crimson eyes follow me in my dreams.

~XxX~

"Hey, Sonic!"

I awake from my slumber at the sound of Tails' call. It's no longer bright and sunny, the sun having set probably a couple hours ago. The evening is dark and warm as we fly into Chemical Plant Zone. The stench of chemicals is just as bad as it was eight years ago when Tails and I fought ol' Egghead here.

"Hang on tight," the kitsune warns as the plane begins its descent. I grip the edge of the wing in front of me as the nose of the plane angles down, feeling the strength of the wind as it tries to force me from my place.

With ease born from years of experience, Tails finds a place to land, and our touchdown is smooth. Using a hand to vault off the top of the plane and on to the ground neatly, I begin to look around the once-familiar surroundings.

Scrutinizing the area, I notice that the decay of this place is pretty obvious. When we had our battle with Eggman back then, not too long after Mobians began abandoning the city that surrounded the Chemical Plant centered in the polluted lake, I remember how vibrant the city once was, but looking at it now, it just looks dead and decaying, a sad sight to see.

The soft thud of Tails' feet on the ground is followed by his voice. "Okay, so my radar is showing a high reading of Chaos energy in the Plant." He pauses and we both take a look at the dilapidated building with slight apprehension. "So I guess that's where we're heading."

I nod and make a gesture for him to follow before taking off towards the polluted lake. I sidestep through the rubble from the crumbled buildings and hear Tails flying behind me a short distance away. The lake is bright and clearly acidic from all the chemicals that were spilled from the Plant over the decades. I look for the silver bridge we used to enter the Plant the first time and am disappointed to see that it's mostly broken and fallen into the lake below it.

"Clearly this isn't going to be as easy as it was the first time around. Then again, I'm always up for a challenge," I say with a smirk and turn to see Tails hovering nearby, ready for my next move.

I take a leaping bound towards a stable piece and keep my momentum going with continuous hops and leaps to secure metal that's survived over the years. Some of the water splashes as I land each time, making me strain to land more smoothly on each piece to avoid being burned. The sound of my bro flying overhead at least assures me that he won't have to worry about falling into this poisonous lake.

"Sonic! Be careful!" his concerned voice suddenly calls out.

I take my eyes off the task at hand while jumping and say cockily, "I'm doing fine, bro! No need to worr—" My foot suddenly slips on a wet portion of the metal I land on, sending me tumbling towards the lake's deadly depths.

My hand slips in to the water and begins to burn immediately; all that I can think is ' _Oh shit.'_

I feel gravity beginning to pull me down when, abruptly, everything stops and I'm lifted into the air. Not thinking of the "how" just yet, all I'm really concerned with is getting the glove off my right hand in hopes that it'll stop the liquid from seeping into my fur anymore.

When I finally take in a relieved breath, I turn to what's keeping me airborne and see Tails' terrified blue eyes burning into mine. "I guess you were right. I should have been more careful. Thanks, Tails."

He looks like he finally takes a breath of his own before beginning to fly towards the broken entrance. "It's fine. Just… don't do it again."

 _Where would I be without my bro?_

We land safely inside and take a look around, seeing many of the clear tubes and silver structures broken, which will make getting around a hassle. There are sickly blue chemicals and purple liquid scattered about on the floor everywhere, making the stench from outside smell like flowers in a field.

"Sheesh, this place _really_ needs maintenance or just to be torn down. I mean _seriously,"_ I complain while pinching my nose.

I see Tails' hands cover his mouth and nose as he nods, and I feel sorry for him because I know his sense of smell is a lot stronger than mine, so I know he must be feeling pretty bad.

"So which way should we head?" I ask, knowing that in this ginormous structure there are three general sections: top, middle, and bottom.

I see him take out the detector from his tails and I wonder how he manages to do that. I guess it's the same way that I can hold objects in my quills if placed correctly.

"Well, according to the scans, it looks like it's most likely… towards the bottom," he concludes after rapidly tapping a few buttons on the device.

"Okay, then let's get moving!" I urge with a thumbs-up before running towards an edge, not knowing what's going to come next but feeling ready for anything.

"Wait up!" Tails yells from behind, and suddenly he's next to me with his tails acting as a propeller to help him keep up with me.

The bright lake from outside reflects off the metal inside the Plant, as usual, being our only light source, but oddly it's bright enough. The once sloping tubes are broken in places or completely gone altogether, making for interesting ways to maneuver about.

I slide down a tube before jumping at the last possible second on to one going down in the opposite direction, continuing this pattern until I see the abrupt ending and the only solid footing being a clear ten yards away.

"Oh, _no!_ " Tails screams when he sees this as well, having been following behind me on blind trust. Thinking quickly, I flatten my gloved hand around the smooth tube as much as I can and grab Tails' hand with my bare one as I start to spin us around it, gaining speed with each revolution.

When I deem the speed high enough I let go, sending us shooting towards our destination. Tails' shrieks of fright are deafening, but I know this will work. I grit my teeth and angle myself to where my feet will land perfectly on the sloping pipe and pull Tails' body forward so that he's cradled in my arms.

The impact is strong, but I keep our balance and the pipe guides us down to the flat silver surface of the floor with no problems. I can feel my brother's heart racing in his chest before I place him safely on his feet.

"You shouldn't worry so much, Tails. Honestly, with you and me, anything is possible. You should know that by now," I tell him in a faux scalding tone while placing a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"Y-yeah, I know. It's just when I saw the ending coming I couldn't think of what to do next. Sorry I doubted you," he responds, his tails drooping behind him.

I gather him in a side hug and begin to lead us towards the only place we can go—a purple liquid-filled area—and let the gesture speak for itself.

I somewhat recognize this area as the bottomless pool before Egghead ambushed us. I look around, trying to find the yellow platform that helped us get across, but see nothing… except a slab of silver metal in the very center with a yellow Chaos Emerald on it. _Of course._

I try to figure out a way to get to it when Tails steps away from me and offers his suggestion. "I can get it easy, Sonic."

He's right. Flying there to pick it up and back would be a cinch, but… it feels wrong somehow. "…okay. Just be careful."

"Now you're stealing _my_ lines," he says with a chuckle before winding his tails in a way only he knows how and taking off towards the coveted gem. He makes it there without a problem and picks it up easily.

Things start to go wrong from there.

Only I see it, and only I have enough time to react and possibly _do_ something to save his life. A large slab of material from the structure above comes loose and begins to fall right where my brother is. My heart rate picks up dramatically as the adrenaline begins to seep into my blood, and I look for a way to get to him before it's too late.

 _Come on! COME ON!_ I don't see or think of anything, and for a moment I think he's lost until I see it: a spring without the protective red covering it used to have. Not even giving it a second thought, I dash towards it and force my body into it as far back as it can go, ignoring the pain it causes, and I let physics take its course.

I'm sent flying towards Tails, and I wrap my arms around him as soon as I'm close enough—probably startling the daylights out of him—and continue our trajectory to the other side of the pool, hearing the rubble splash into the water where we once were previously.

This all happens over the course of five seconds.

Tails' startled eyes lock with my emerald ones as he tries to comprehend what just occurred. He looks back at the disturbed liquid and voices the obvious question: "What happened?"

I try to relax my tense muscles as I answer. "This place is seriously bad luck. I swear it has it in for us," I end up saying instead.

"Okay, seriously, what happened? You look so frazzled. And how did you do that, exactly?" he asks while gesturing from where I was standing to where we are now.

I sigh, shake my head, and again pull him towards me under my arm. "Some things just don't need to be explained, lil' buddy."

I'm sure Tails is still pretty confused, but that's okay. We're safe, and clutched securely in his hands is the yellow Emerald we came here for.

~XxX~

"Thank _Chaos_ we're out of that place. If I don't see Chemical Plant again it'll be too soon," I mutter as soon as we exit the cursed building.

"Yeah, I agree, but at least we got the Emerald. That makes two. I don't know if Eggman has any of his own already, but we know of at least one other Emerald's location for sure, remember?" Tails says as he airlifts me back across the acidic lake.

"Hmm… Oh, yeah! Up on Knucklehead's Island! So that one is in the bag as soon as we head up there," I respond with a smirk at our odds looking brighter.

"Yep, but right now I think we should head for the next Zone and see if one's there as well. Maybe I can try and do a scan now that we have two Emeralds. There'll be a better possibility of detecting one from this distance with both Emeralds," Tails explains while we start to head for the Tornado.

"Head for the next Zone" seems to ring in my head, sending a shiver down my spine. _Aquatic Ruin = WATER._ "H-hey, uhh, Tails? You think we can split up? You take A-Aquatic Ruin while I head off to Casino Night? It'll make things quicker, ya know, and you can meet me in Casino Night," I immediately suggest once the connection is made in my mind.

"Uhh, what?" he asks, confused, but I take it as confirmation regardless.

"Okay, thanks! See you there!" I shout as I disappear like the wind through the abandoned city.

"Wait! Sonic! There isn't even… a Chaos Emerald in Aquatic Ruin…" Tails mutters exhaustedly after checking his scans, but the Blue Blur is already gone.

* * *

An interesting way to kick of the adventure... Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and the favs! Shadow's part of the adventure will be in next week's chapter~


	4. Introductions Are Made, Friends Are Made

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~4~**

 **-Introductions Are Made, Friends Are Made-**

My journey through Hill Top Zone took up most of the day, surprisingly enough, and the once blue sky is now dark with twinkling stars, a far too familiar sight. A gaping hole in the mountain I've been descending allows me to take my thoughts off my troubled past and enter the cavern's depths with caution.

From what I gather, this should be the entrance to what is known as Mystic Caves Zone. My crimson eyes begin to analyze the place immediately, taking in its collapsed state with distaste. Purple and green rocks are everywhere in large piles from what I can assume was once an orderly formation. I can barely make out what is supposed to be train rails but are now rusted beyond repair.

I begin to walk slowly through the piles of rubble, seeing shattered lanterns here and there. _Well, at least there used to be a light source._ My heightened senses allow for me to see enough to get around, so a light source isn't really _needed;_ it just would have been helpful.

I take a deep breath of stale air and allow my sixth sense to try and guide me to where the Chaos Emerald in the Zone might be. All I can gather, though, is that it's further, or deeper, in these caves. _I guess when I get closer, it will become clearer where it's located._

I begin to trudge forward, taking in what could have once been "Mystical" but is now just ruined rocks. A shifting of terrain alerts me to danger, but I don't realize exactly _where_ until the ground below me disappears.

Thinking quickly, I grab one of the hanging green vines just in time to spare myself from… _What exactly?_ Taking a look down, I see shiny white spikes just waiting to skewer me. _Huh, I guess I won't be someone's shish kabob today._

Hanging onto the vine with one hand, I begin to swing back and forth, gaining momentum until I let go at the apex of my swing and land on the other side of the gap with ease. I don't look back as I continue walking forward with determination.

My left ear seems to twitch as I sense something… _different_ , not necessarily dangerous. I'm still so unused to sensing the Chaos energy of other Mobians that it puts me on edge for a moment when I do. _I'm not alone here._

I ignore the presence as I maneuver through the rocks and hidden spikes until the being quite suddenly drops down beside me. If they were expecting some kind of startled reaction from me, they're sorely mistaken.

I continue to walk and only turn my eyes to take in the newcomer. It's a female albino bat. _Does she inhabit this place by chance?_ Her eyes are the color of teal, the lids of which are colored with that of light blue. The outfit she adorns is rather _scandalous,_ I suppose, being tight black fitting leather with a pink heart emphasizing her bust. Her gloves are white as well as her boots, and they too have highlights of pink with the boots having similar hearts as the one on her bust.

I refuse to be the one to speak first, as I like to analyze the people I come in contact with for any signs of weakness if there is a need for it.

"So you're not going to speak to me? How rude." Even her voice is sultry, seeming to match her appearance fairly well.

"Well, you're the one who approached me. Clearly you wanted something?" I respond, hoping to ruffle her nerves a bit.

"Why, I never! Is that a way to treat a lady?" she huffs in my direction while crossing her arms under her large chest.

"That depends. I don't really see a _lady_ nearby," I say with a growing smirk, having too much fun picking at her.

"Oh, you _jerk!_ I ought to teach you some manners!" she growls as she begins to flap her wings, hovering in the air next to my walking form.

"No need. I know them quite well." I can't really help it when I chuckle now. This is pretty amusing.

"Oh, the nerve!" she rants, but despite her anger she continues to follow me towards where the Chaos energy I feel is getting stronger.

 _Hmm. I think I know what she's up to…_ Regaining my seriousness, I decide to ask her a question. "So what exactly are you doing in these caves? With your _standards_ I would assume this would be the last place someone would find you."

She turns her nose up at me. "Hmph. Shows how much you know."

"So this is your dwelling?" I question instead, since she wants to respond with such attitude—even though I know I'm the cause of it.

" _Hardly_."

I decide to take a second look at her and realize that although her outward appearance labels her as something shameful, inward she's rather cunning. _She's not going to give me any information, just as I wouldn't for her. Like this we're almost evenly matched._

"What about you? You seem like the type who'd be out riding motorcycles or something. Why are _you_ here?" she questions me with a smug smirk as she flies with ease over most of the obstacles I have to climb or jump over.

 _Motorcycle?_ I think I recall seeing a picture of one before. Some type of motorized bicycle, but that's not the point right now. "I have a personal mission to complete."

"Hmm. Sounds mysterious… Mind telling me what it is?" she questions with a flutter of her eyelids, which to most would probably be alluring, but when I think of the word only the image of that blue hedgehog comes to mind, causing me to stumble on the rough pile of stones I'm crossing.

Her chuckle makes me think that she believes her behavior was the cause of my loss of concentration. _Let her think she has some kind of effect on me. It might prove to my advantage._ "I'm pretty sure you and I are here for the same reasons. No need to beat around the bush," I chastise her as if we've known each other for ages.

"Who? Me? I wouldn't do something like that." She changes her voice to sound innocent, but in actuality it makes her sound the opposite.

"Really? Is that why you've been following me around this whole time? To make sure I didn't actually get to the Chaos Emerald before you, or so that you could find it when I did and try to make off with it as soon as you got the chance?" I address her knowingly, having finally concluded my analysis on her for the moment and knowing this is exactly what she was up to.

She looks frustrated at having been caught but at least has the decency to admit it. "Fine, you caught me. What could you possibly want with the Emerald anyway?" she grudgingly asks.

I notice that the path before me is a wide-open pit not lined with spikes but far too deep for my liking to fall down. Looking up, I grab a sturdy vine and swing across like earlier, landing with a thud before continuing to the now stronger pulse of Chaos energy. "I told you before: I have a personal mission to complete. I cannot allow the Doctor to collect all of the Emeralds," I finally respond to her inquiry.

"The Doctor? You mean Eggman?" She sounds surprised by this.

"Yes. You know of him?"

"Yeah, who doesn't? The loon's been trying to take over Mobius for as long as I can remember. If it weren't for Sonic and Tails, for the most part, he would have succeeded," she tells me truthfully.

"Hmm. Well, this matter has to deal with me—therefore I'm doing something about it. Why are you after this gem?" I ask in return.

"Well, believe it or not, you're traveling with the world's greatest treasure hunter and spy. Rouge the Bat's my name, and I absolutely _adore_ gems. But Chaos Emeralds are of a different class of their own…" she trails off in a dreamy sort of way.

 _Obsessed with jewels. Who would have guessed? Rouge is a fitting name for such a person. I can tell she's not a bad person per se, but I cannot let her have this gem, especially for such material reasons._ Her next question brings me out of my thoughts.

"So you got a name, sunshine?"

I can tell "sunshine" is a way to mock me, but I let it slide. "Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Well, Shadow, nice to meet you," she purrs as she leans her hovering body more towards me, but I ignore it for the sight in front of me. The purple Chaos Emerald sits on a green rock formation in a form similar to that of a pillar. It looks innocent enough, but I don't approach it yet for two reasons. One, I have to make it clear to Rouge that under no circumstances is she getting this gem, and two, I can sense that it's more dangerous than it looks.

I turn my ruby red eyes towards her and find her studying me as well, waiting for my next move. "I have to let you know that you can't have that Emerald. It's far too important to just be looked at due to its beauty. Besides, it has to be kept hidden from the Doctor or else… this world could fall to ruin," I attempt to explain calmly.

I can tell she's a somewhat reasonable person when it comes to everything else except gems, so my little speech just went in through one ear and out the other, I can see.

"Oh, yeah? Who's going to stop me?" she demands cockily as she darts off quickly in flight towards the shining purple Emerald.

As I predicted, something wasn't quite _right_ about the situation, so seeing the green rock formation similar to the one holding the Emerald come out of the roof in preparation to crush the bat doesn't at all surprise me.

I actually stand there and consider for a moment if I should do something; I mean, I did _warn_ her. Seeing the danger draw nearer, though, seems to bring about my long-lost friend's voice that seems to scold me for even considering letting such an _innocent_ person get killed.

I roll my eyes at my friend's choice of words and lift my glowing hand to send a Chaos Spear at the descending rocks of doom, saving Rouge by seconds. The shock wave sends her to the ground none too gently, but, hey, she's alive.

I walk up to the pillar and grab the chaotic gem, placing it securely in my quills before turning to the girl whose life I just saved. She looks absolutely stunned and awed at me, but I simply ignore it and offer her my hand. "Are you going to sit on the floor all night or actually leave this wretched place?"

She looks at my hand, the same one that wielded the Chaos energy, and takes it gingerly. I hoist her up then abruptly turn in the opposite direction in which we came and start to backtrack my way out of the place.

The displacement of air lets me know that she's airborne again, and I soon feel her presence at my side. "Don't think I've forgiven you for how rude you were to me earlier… but thank you," she tells me sincerely.

 _You should thank Maria._ "No problem."

~XxX~

"Oh, don't you just love the evening life?" the bat girl exclaims as soon as we exit the cavernous mountain. She makes an aerial swoop in show of her excitement before settling in her "appointed" side near me.

I don't answer her question and just continue my trek back up the mountains towards my home in Hill Top.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" she asks quite plainly after the continued silence.

"Nope." We continue the journey up the elevation when she speaks again.

"Well, could you at least tell me where we're going, sunshine?"

 _That name again._ I narrow my eyes before I respond to her taunt. "I am going to my home, if you must know."

I can tell I just gave her something to work with by the teasing smirk on her lips. "But we just met! Isn't that kind of sudden? Besides, I already have a mate. So sorry, _this_ "—she gestures to her curvaceous body—"is off the market."

I look at her as she chuckles amusedly and give her a deadpan look. _The way she dresses and teases guys must be some tactic to get them to do her bidding. A very crafty move._

She arches an eyebrow in my direction. "What's with that look? Don't tell me you weren't interested."

I huff and make the final steps up the steep climb and finally see most of the terrain that marks Hill Top: green pine trees colored in shadow due to the night, various pits illuminated in vibrant orange because of the lava, and way off in the distance to the sides are illuminated homes where the Mobians reside. It makes me wonder why the house I discovered is located deeper in the Zone, not that I'm complaining. I like the solitude.

"You're just upset that I'm turning you down. It's okay, I'm sure you'll find your Chaos Bound out there somewhere. Even with your surly attitude, there's got to be someone who's nice and happy all the time to balance you out," she tells me sincerely.

I want to deny her words, but the image of those bright emerald eyes keeps coming to mind, and my hand instinctively goes to my stomach as I answer. "I-I don't have a—I mean, I can't be with—" I grit my teeth in frustration at my body's refusal to say the words. _Is this connection that strong?_

She lands on the ground and places a careful hand on my shoulder. "Whoa, there! No need to get so worked up! What's the matter, Shadow?" she actually sounds genuinely concerned, and this surprises me.

I'm not quite sure how to respond, seeing as the only people who cared for me were Maria and the Professor, so I just keep it to myself like I usually do. "It's nothing. Besides, we should keep going."

She looks upset that her efforts were shrugged off, but having been around me for the better part of the evening, she takes it in stride. "Why are you going further into the Zone? I thought you said you were going home, so shouldn't you be heading where the more settled areas are?" she asks curiously while walking next to me.

"I live away from everyone" is my only answer.

"Figures," she responds with a careless shrug.

After traversing through the Zone in surprisingly companionable silence, I finally see my log cabin nestled in the pine trees. Upon entering the small home, I realize just how empty the place truly is now that another person is here.

"Uh… nice place you got here," Rouge hesitantly compliments upon gazing around.

"I've only been here for about a week, so…" I feel unusually uncomfortable.

"Oh, that explains it!" she says in understanding. _You have no idea._ "So where were you before you moved to Hill Top Zone?"

Her question is a normal one to ask; the answer, on the other hand, is not a normal response to give. "I was on planet Earth."

The seat she was taking on the red couch turns into a flop as the words enter her ears. " _E-Earth?_ What were you doing there? You didn't come with Sonic and our gang…" she trails off confusedly.

 _Again that name. He's some kind of hero, right?_ "Well, no. I am from Earth. It's hard to explain. I shouldn't even be telling you this," I mutter with a cross of my arms as I lean against the wall nestling the empty fireplace in front of Rouge.

I see her roll her eyes dramatically and even sigh exaggeratedly. "You haven't figured it out yet? That's what friends _do_. They share stuff with each other." She points this out as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

 _Friends…?_ My wide crimson eyes take in the warm smile she's giving me, and I feel like her words are actually true. "Friends? Why would you want to be such a thing to me?" I have to ask, honestly unsure of why she would want to hang around a… creation like me. _Maybe that's it. It's because she doesn't know the whole truth about me._

"Well, you saved my life, and even with your standoffish attitude I still think you're a good person. That's enough for me," she answers simply.

"I'm pretty sure that once you hear my full story you won't feel the same way." I let out a sigh and continue speaking before she can offer a retort. "I am from Earth, yes, and I was created, not born, approximately fifty years ago aboard a Space Colony named ARK."

She looks intrigued but doesn't comment and allows me to continue. "My creator is named Gerald Robotnik. Yes, he's related to the Doctor. He's his grandfather, in fact. I was created for the sole purpose of being the Ultimate Lifeform, specifically so that I could help people. The Professor had a granddaughter named Maria who was a very close friend of mine; in fact, I looked at her as a sister," I say with softness as I remember her sweet smiles and happy laughter.

"I spent a few years with them, being put through tests and experiments by the other scientists who looked at me with fear and disgust, but as long as I had the Professor and Maria, I was happy." Even without me saying anything further yet, the shift in the atmosphere of the room speaks of impending doom.

"You've seen only a sample of the power I wield when I saved you. Well, the humans soon began to fear me because of my powers. They thought that I would turn on them…" I say while looking down at my hands now held in front of me.

"So they tried to get rid of you…?" she questions hesitantly.

"Worse. They sent GUN (Guardian Units of Nations) soldiers to shut down the ARK. We of course tried to escape, and they were killing anyone who resisted. I tried my best to protect Maria, but in the end…" My throat closes up as I recall the blood that began to blossom on her light blue gown that she loved to wear so much. Her hand weakly reaching out to me as she urged me to continue on…

"I'm so sorry, Shadow." Her eyes hold sympathy for me as she holds her hands together over her chest.

"She ended up sacrificing herself so that I could live; she wanted me to continue on and give the people of Earth a chance to be happy, even after all they had done. She was truly one-of-a-kind. I guess when the capsule I was ejected in landed on Earth, I was knocked unconscious, and they took that chance to seal me in a cryogenic chamber where I was kept for the past fifty years.

"If it weren't for the Doctor, I would still be sealed and back on Earth," I conclude.

"Cryogenic chamber? Was that the thing I stumbled upon on Eggman's ship that day?" she wonders aloud to herself.

 _She stumbled upon…_ And then I remember the Doctor saying something about someone named Rouge having been the one who reminded him of my existence in the first place. _This is the girl? This can't be a coincidence._

"Shadow, I hope you realize this doesn't change anything," she tells me while standing and placing a hand on her wide hip. "I like you as a person, and I want to be friends. So if you ever need any help, you can always ask." The smirk on her lips is playful but genuine, and I finally decide to return it.

"Okay, then I think I'll take you up on that offer."

She holds her hands up in in fake admonishment. "Whoa, there, buddy! I thought I told you _this_ is off-limits."

I roll my eyes in amusement as she laughs wholeheartedly. "Okay, seriously, what do you need?"

I pull out the purple Chaos Emerald from my quills, leaving the red one hidden as I speak. "It's about the Chaos Emeralds. I told you before that I need to protect them from the Doctor. He found some prophecy which I don't wish to go into details on at the moment. If he gets all the pieces to the prophecy, things could become very bad. This may not be Earth, but Maria wouldn't want me to sit around and let bad things happen if I can do something about it, especially when it personally involves me."

She crosses her arms and thinks for a moment before offering her two cents. "Well, okay… I'll help you with this, but only because we're friends and you saved my life. Otherwise those Emeralds would be _mine_. I know of where another Emerald is located. It's one Zone back in Casino Night."

I nod and walk towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "No use wasting any more time. Let's arrive there in style." She looks confused at my comment and gesture, but I expect it. Lifting the shining purple Emerald in the air, I say in a commanding tone, "Chaos Control."

We disappear from the cabin, leaving it once again bare and empty.

* * *

Thank you guys for all the reviews, follows, favs, and just support in general! It means a lot. :) Next week a meeting occurs in Casino Night Zone!


	5. But We're Meant To Be? Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~5~**

 **-But We're Meant To Be...? Pt. 1-**

I feel kind of bad for leaving Tails behind like that, but water is just _not_ my thing. Everyone has their irrational fears, and that just so happens to be mine. It doesn't help the fact that I have to go through Aquatic Ruin just to get to Casino Night Zone anyway.

Strictly sticking to the top route, I run as fast as I can over the crumbling ruins of a long-forgotten society. If it weren't for all the water, the healthy hanging shrubbery, and large stone pillars—albeit broken in most cases—would make this pretty nice scenery.

Unlike Chemical Plant Zone, this place hasn't changed a bit since we last left it, making traveling at supersonic speeds and avoiding the water effortless. It's oddly dark out, maybe the early hours of the morning now. I'm so used to Aquatic Ruin being illuminated by sunlight that seeing it shrouded in darkness is an interesting difference.

I'm making great time getting to the next Zone, even if I am getting a little tired from the constant running…

I lift my hand to stifle a yawn, closing my eyes as I do so, and expect my knowledge of the familiar terrain to keep me from running into anything. The hole I trip over and sends me flying is really a surprise.

My wide eyes expect to see me heading for one of the large pillars or just an excruciating impact with the stone floor. The sight of water stops my heart, and I can't seem to remember how to move my limbs. I land with a wet splash, and my entire body is chilled to the core.

"Help! _HELP! PLEASE!"_ I cry out desperately as I begin to flail around. I don't know what I expected, really. This Zone is pretty deserted, due to it being in ruins and all.

My splashing around causes water to go into my mouth, and I begin to splutter and struggle even more desperately, the beginnings of tears forming in the corners of my eyes. _Is this really how it's going to end?_

It takes me a full three minutes to realize the water I've been splashing around in is only ankle-high in depth. Standing up with an embarrassed flush but still feeling shivers of fear rack my form, I wipe the small tears from my eyes with my bare hand and look back to see what I tripped over. _There shouldn't have been anything there…_

I notice a fairly new hole in the stone path that shouldn't be there. Taking a closer look, I notice that it's only big enough for something small in diameter to fit through. It's too dark to really see what lies down below it, so I just decide to leave it alone and get as far away from this Zone as possible.

"I've flirted with death enough times for the moment. I just want to get to the next Zone and maybe catch a nap while I can," I mutter before stifling another yawn. I keep my eyes open when I begin running. No need to take another impromptu bath again.

~XxoOoxX~

Casino Night is a lot more vibrant at night than it is during the day. Looking around after arriving, I see nothing but moving lights of different designs, shapes, and colors moving back and forth and flashing in different patterns. I take my astonished eyes off the lights from above and see that the floor is neon red, adding to the vibrancy of this place.

The walls are golden in color, also littered in different glowing designs, and upon closer inspection I notice certain panels actually flipping between two images. The first I can see is of a fox's smiling face that flips to an image of a crescent moon. The next is…. My eyes widen as I notice a more youthful image of my Chaos Bound being flipped to an image of a star and back. _It can't be him, right?_

"Shadow, was that really Chaos Control? I mean, I've seen it done with all seven, but not just a single Emerald." Rouge's voice suddenly reminds me of her presence, and I tear my eyes away from the changing panels.

"Yes. Chaos Control is quite easy to do with a single Emerald if you have enough power to do so, as well as the knowledge of how to completely control the energy inside of you," I automatically explain to her before I decide to hesitantly ask her a question of my own. _Friends can ask each other things, right? So this should be no big deal._

I turn my crimson eyes on her form and cast a glance at the panels, when I finally decide to speak. "Rouge… do you know who's on those changing panels right there?"

She arches an eyebrow before turning her eyes to the gold-colored walls. "Oh, that's easy! The fox is Tails and the hedgehog is Sonic from when they were younger. They saved Mobius together for the first time maybe eight years ago, and Casino Night Zone just loves sporting logos of our heroes to earn extra cash," she explains with a roll of her eyes.

 _Sonic and Tails—she mentioned them before. They're her friends, I believe. Wait a minute—heroes?_ I look at the youthful image of the hedgehog again and the pieces seem to fall into place. Back in Emerald Hill about a hero living nearby; all the things Rouge said about this "Sonic" saving Mobius from the Doctor; hell, the Doctor _himself_ cursing "that blue hedgehog"—why didn't I see it before?

 _Sonic is my mate._

I'm the Chaos Bound to the hero of Mobius. I sigh and pull a palm over my face. _Well, this just got more complicated. As soon as he catches wind of the Doctor being up to something, we're going to start running into each other, and just_ damn it!

"What's wrong, Shadow? You look so ruffled all of a sudden," Rouge asks, curious.

I shake my head. "Never mind. So where is this Emerald supposed to be?" I ask, wanting to get a move on so that hopefully I'll have less chance of running into… Sonic.

"Well, I heard it's being offered as a prize. Come on, I'll show you." She gestures for me to follow, and we enter the flashing elevator leading down. The inside of the elevator is small, and a slow violin piece is playing, causing me to sigh in exhaustion. When a _ding_ sounds and the doors open, any exhaustion I was feeling completely disappears at the sight of all the life flowing in this room.

Card tables, gambling machines, a bar, live music, flashing lights, smoke— _God, the smoke_ —this place is the epitome of a Casino.

I can see in the very center of the room a neon sign reading: Try Your Hand At Winning A Chaos Emerald! After I cast a look at Rouge, we immediately head in that direction.

"Step right up! If you think you're strong enough, you just might be able to win this here Chaos Emerald!" the male wolf in a show hat wielding a megaphone announces as he points to the dark blue Chaos Emerald in a sturdy glass box. Next to him is a machine about twenty feet high with a bell on top and a lever with a puck on one end and rubber padding on the other. _I believe this is a High Striker. I read about it once during my leisure reading aboard the ARK…_

Looking around, we see many male Mobians eager to see if they can claim the priceless jewel. A fairly strong-looking tiger steps up to lift the heavy mallet. The crowd roars as he lifts it over his head with both hands. I turn to Rouge with a bored look, and she returns it with an exaggerated yawn. The tiger swings the mallet down, and the puck goes about halfway up before falling back down to its resting place.

The crowd's roars turn into boos pretty swiftly, and my friend beside me says, "Well, that was eventful."

Seeing a wolf rearing up to give it a shot, I decide it's about time to show these people what real strength is. Upon seeing me walking forward, Rouge gives me a smirk. "Gonna give this crowd a show?"

"You're catching on quickly," I say with a chuckle while walking towards the High Striker.

~XxoOoxX~

My body instinctively yawns and then begins to splutter and cough at the copious amounts of smoke that pollutes the air. _I forgot how much gamblers like to smoke in casinos._

After arriving in the Zone, it became pretty obvious where the Chaos Emerald was located. Neon signs depicting a picture of an Emerald with the words: "Come to the Casino!" scrawled under it in fancy lettering was a helpful giveaway.

I'll admit, Casino Night Zone is a sort of guilty pleasure of mine. I had to stop bringing Tails here because he became a little obsessed with the slot machines. Removing those spiked balls from his fur was not a fun occasion.

I suppress another cough and see a large crowd gathered in the center of the room. From what I can see, it's one of those games you would see played at a carnival or something, which is pretty odd, but when you think about it, it's somewhat understandable. Playing card games with gamblers is just asking to be cheated. With this game, the odds are a little more in your favor.

I start to pay attention again when the crowd suddenly goes wild. A male tiger has stepped up to the challenge, apparently. I cross my arms and lean against the back wall with a smirk on my face. _Let's see how this plays out._

He lifts the mallet up, swings it down, and shows the world that his brawn really is all just for show. I double over in laughter, which soon turns into choking coughs, but despite my discomfort I can't help but feel it was worth it.

My green eyes look back up to see who the next challenger is going to be when the parting of the crowd stops my heart cold. _I-is… is that him?_ A black-and-red-streaked hedgehog begins to walk calmly towards the game, the Mobians around him seeming to part subconsciously as he draws nearer.

My eyes stay glued to his form, completely entranced as I take in the confident, almost regal way that he walks. A wolf, apparently unaware of the hedgehog coming up behind him, is thoroughly surprised and angered when the mysterious being simply grabs the mallet from his reaching grasp. Before the wolf can even try to retaliate, blazing crimson eyes turn on him, freezing him in his place immediately. Without another word, my Chaos Bound turns to the game in front of him, leaving the wolf to walk off with his tail between his legs.

My eyes are lidded as I smile dreamily at him. _He's a take-action kind of guy… I like that._

He seems to study the mallet in his hand for a moment before lifting it overhead with one arm and striking the rubber-covered lever with such sheer force that the puck puts a dent in the bell above it. Absolute silence fills the crowd for a full minute, not that the hedgehog seems perturbed as he turns to the game operator with an expectant look.

Having gotten over their shock, the crowd starts cheering wildly in uproar. I trail my eyes over his form slowly, feeling my heart rate beginning to pick up slightly. _He's so strong, too…_

The sight of the operator moving to get the Chaos Emerald brings me out of my daze. _While I loved watching his show of strength... I can't just let him take the Chaos Emerald._ Taking a deep breath and regretting it shortly after, I say in a loud voice, "Surely you'd at least let me have a shot at it as well?"

All eyes turn to me, and I allow a cocky smile to slip on my face when whispers and exclamations of "It's Sonic!" start building in the casino like a wildfire. My emerald eyes take note of the fact that the ears of the hedgehog that I desperately want to acknowledge me seem to perk as his entire body freezes, but he does not turn to face me like everyone else.

The male wolf running things gives a sheepish smile as he nods. "Why, of course, Sonic! Anything for our world hero!"

I smile back and begin to walk through the crowd when a hand is placed on my shoulder, stopping me momentarily. I turn to see a familiar friend.

"Hey there, Blue." The smooth drawl of her voice is nice to hear after not seeing her for a while.

"How's it going, Rouge? What are you doing here? I thought you were on Angle Island with Knucklehead because of… uhh…" I chuckle embarrassingly at the end, not really wanting to mention it.

"Our season has past, Blue. No need to be so embarrassed. I'm actually here with a new friend I just met. Shadow, right there," she says while pointing in the direction of… _oh_.

 _Shadow… I like it._

"So you're going to give it a shot, too, huh?" she asks, bringing me out of my musings.

I nod while still looking at my very handsome mate. Walking forward, I hear Rouge call out a "Good luck!" before the mallet and challenge is right in front of me. Taking the mallet in both hands, I turn my eyes to see Shadow standing not too far off to the side, staring at the ground in frustration. I look forward again in confusion. _Why doesn't he seem to like me?_

I shake the thought for a moment and concentrate on the task at hand. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to pull this off one-handed like Shadow, so I make sure I have a firm grip with both hands and inhale deeply, forgetting about the damn smoke that seems to think it's air in this place.

I nearly drop the mallet in order to bring up a hand to cover my coughs, and out of the corner of my eye I see Shadow reach towards me with concern in his crimson depths. Seeing this causes me to turn my head fully in surprise, freezing him in place until he withdraws from me completely as if in shame. I curse myself as I re-concentrate on the game. _So much for almost making contact._

I swiftly raise the mallet above my head and swing it down with the force of my frustration, hearing the bell _ding_ at my successful hit.

The group of spectators begins to cheer at my victory, and I turn to the now nervous operator. "W-well, we only have one Chaos Emerald, s-so …" he trails off, unsure of what to do.

I look at Shadow, who appears completely indifferent to the situation, simply staring at the game operator with his crimson eyes, making him even more nervous. I attempt to bite back my smile at the sight before trying to think of a solution to the problem. _I need that Emerald, but Shadow did win the game first…_

"Why don't you fellas race for it?" Rouge's voice abruptly suggests from behind us.

I spin around to face her in confusion. "Wha—?"

She turns her teal eyes to Shadow when she speaks next. "You told me yourself about being the Ultimate Lifeform. I'm sure you'd be fast enough to keep up with Sonic here," she says with a smirk.

My ears perk eagerly at this. _Ultimate Lifeform? What's that?_ I turn my vibrant eyes towards Shadow at the idea of him possibly being able to keep up with me in speed. "Is it true? Would you really be able to race me?" I ask in a hyperactive voice, my smile wide as I take in the possibility.

His eyes lock on to my form with an intensity I can't seem to place but has my heart racing all the same. "Yes, I'm quite positive." His voice is just as deep and smooth as I remember it, resulting in a warm blush forming on my face.

"S-so you can even race at supersonic speeds?" I inquire almost hesitantly, not wanting to get my hopes up of finally having someone who I can compete with.

He crosses his arms and begins to walk towards the elevator leading up to the outdoors of Casino Night Zone, his voice lingering behind as he answers, "You'll see."

I smile giddily as I hurry after him, wanting to be in the small enclosed cylindrical room with him alone. The door closes us in, and the slow violin piece I heard when I first came down here begins to play again.

My rush to enter the elevator results in a small coughing fit _again. Man, am I glad to get out of that place. I would not be good at smoking._ I feel a warm, soothing hand begin to rub along my lower back, and I turn to see Shadow looking anywhere but at me while offering me comfort.

"Your lungs aren't filtering the smoke very efficiently," he seems to mutter to himself.

I tilt my head to the side while trying to imperceptibly move closer to him. "What?"

He seems startled that I heard him speak and hastily responds. "It's nothing."

While most people would see his mannerisms and body language as weird and reasons to stay away from him, they just make me want to get closer, to get to know him better.

My emerald eyes burn into him on the journey up, but I can't seem to take my eyes off of him. _I just want to be this close for as long as I possibly can…_ Just when I'm about to give in to my instincts and lean into him fully, the doors open and Shadow walks out, leaving me feeling cold and alone.

I heave a sigh and follow him out, stopping next to him when we reach the beginnings of the life-sized casino. Hardly anyone goes through this part of the Zone, seeing as it takes particular skill to be able to maneuver around it, which makes me wonder why it was built. Tails and I go through here all the time (until I banned him), but I never see other Mobians attempt it. They always go to the Casino down below, which I really dislike due to the enclosed area and all the smoking.

I turn to Shadow to see that he's staring at me intently again, and I feel my face flush against my will. _What's with this guy? He's hot and cold—one minute ignoring me, the next looking at me as if I'm the center of his world._

"Okay, Shadow, this is what we're going to do. For this particular part of the Zone, if you keep heading straight you'll eventually come to the end of the Zone, but we aren't going to go that far. We are to race to about the middle of the Zone to a specific part where there are small green blocks that go around in a small square pattern, one block following the other, before disappearing on one side and reappearing on the other. When you get to that section, you cross the temporary path then race all the way back here to the start," I explain knowledgeably before turning to him with a mischievous smirk.

Shadow seems to be taking in this information with rapt attention, making me smile before I offer him a helpful hint. " _But_ … this area is located on the top path only, so I suggest you tread carefully or you might miss it and end up going much further than you're supposed to, got it?"

His eyes alight with determination that suddenly renders it harder to breathe. "I understand, hedgehog."

The way he pronounced "hedgehog" with a subtle softness makes it hard not to smile. I do a few quick stretches before finally stating, "Okay, on the count of three. One, two, _three!"_

I take off quickly, using my knowledge of the Zone to my advantage when I use the red spring to help boost me towards the upper path of the Zone instead of taking the long way around. The bright lights, golden walls, and neon red flooring really make the place stand out, and taking a chance glance to my left I see the vibrant lights of the many buildings that populate this Zone.

It's still dark out, even though it won't be that way for long, seeing as it's early morning, but for now I enjoy the nightlife of Casino Night Zone. Going through the obstacles of this Zone is as easy as breathing, so when the time comes to jump across a path of circular star plates, I do so with perfect balance, laughing out loud at the joy of it all.

I decide to take a look back and see if Shadow really is as fast as he said he was (even if he is, he might not be on the same path as me) and am shocked to see him just on the other side of the path I just crossed.

 _He must have been following me so he doesn't lose his way. Pretty smart move. I'm sure when we get to the halfway point of the Zone, that's where the_ real _race begins._ I smirk then jump across three small drop targets that turn yellow after I make contact with them. I can see the disappearing path of green squares coming up and increase my speed just a little to put some distance between Shadow and me. This _is_ a race, after all.

As soon as I cross the path, I nearly run straight into my Chaos Bound upon turning around to head back. _How'd he catch up so fast?_

"Trying to lose me, hmm?" he asks with a quirk of his lips.

"I-I, uh… You're pretty fast" is all my mind can come up with.

"I told you I can keep up," he seems to almost purr.

I bite my lip desperately and turn my face away. _Does he feel the tension, too?_ I need to get back to running before I do something rash. Turning to face the constantly moving and vanishing squares, I make a dash for them as soon as an opportunity arrives, feeling Shadow right behind me.

Traveling the Zone backwards is as easy as going forwards as long as you know how this Zone works. Even though Shadow may know the path we just took, if he tried to take it back all the way, he'd get stuck and end up having to backtrack, losing time, something that I'm counting on if he's as cocky as I think he is.

Reaching the circular star plates again, I listen to the _ping_ s as I balance my way across, and instead of trying to take the loop backwards I step on to the elevator to head down to the middle path. Just as it begins to go down, I feel a warmth settle in behind me, sending tingles down my spine.

I feel the warmth of his breath against my ear as he speaks smugly, "I bet you thought you'd won this, huh? I studied the layout as we went along. You're going to have to try harder than that."

My breathing becomes slightly ragged at the closeness and warmth that seeps from his form. I don't try and stop myself from pushing further back into him and feel my knees nearly go weak when his hands hesitantly settle on my waist.

The abrupt stop of the elevator saddens me greatly, because I was just starting to get a little closer to my mate. With a disheartened sigh I separate from Shadow and continue up the red-lined floors as quickly as I possibly can in this Zone, hearing a strange swishing noise not too far behind me.

Taking a look back, I realize that Shadow really isn't running, but more like _skating_ : his red, white, and black shoes are blazing inferno from the bottom as he propels forward.

Now most would immediately think "Cheater!" but I can tell there's more to it than meets the eye, so I turn back ahead of me and continue on with the race. Seeing the life-sized slot machine coming up, I know this is the final stretch, so I begin to pull off a tricky maneuver to get to the highest area in this section.

Hopping on the lowest green flipper, I wait until I'm on the very tip before activating the launch mechanism, making sure to aim for the green flipper higher up on the opposite side of the slot area. Repeating the process this time, I aim much higher for the purple conveyor belt—which, in hindsight, is a really out-of-place object. Landing on it with a smile, I take a leaping bound towards the flat surface, ready to make a sprint towards the finish, when Shadow suddenly blazes past me.

Mouth agape, I stare at his distancing form. _He really is a quick study._ I clench my teeth and, beginning to sprint, _run_ after him, not willing to be outdone in a battle of speed. I can see the ending drawing near; even Rouge is waiting for us with the Chaos Emerald in her palm.

 _Come on! I can do this!_ With determination I begin to move faster, feeling the wind trying to put up a resistance against me, but I push onward, gaining on Shadow's speeding form. We hadn't been traveling past the speed of sound due to the more platform-heavy design of this Zone, but with this path being so open, I decide to break the barrier.

The world around me becomes a blur, but at the same time I can see with perfect clarity, and just as Shadow is about to reach Rouge I flash past them, having to skid to a stop due to the high velocity in which I was traveling.

I jog back over to the two of them with a jubilant smile on my face. Running always gets my spirits up, and the fact that I actually came close to _losing_ just makes me more attracted to Shadow. _He's fast, strong, and smart. He's really turning out to be something special… I just wish he'd let me get close to him._

My smile dims at the thought, and I look up to see Rouge holding out the dark blue Emerald to me. "You always got to have a grand finale, huh, Blue?" I give her a weak smile at that and turn to Shadow, whose back faces us.

"Shadow…?" I call out to him softly.

"A deal is a deal. You won the race; therefore the Chaos Emerald is awarded to you." His voice is distant and calm as he speaks, making me feel distressed at the implications. _He's distancing himself again. Why does he keep doing that?_

The sight of his retreating form causes me to panic. "Wait! _Shadow!"_ I run after him, leaving a very confused bat girl still holding the Emerald.

He doesn't stop walking, which allows me to quickly catch up to him and plaster myself to his front. His eyes widen in size as I press closer to him frantically. My voice is full of desperation as I try to get him to understand. "Shadow! You can't go. You have to understand. W-we're Chaos Bound," I explain while staring into his vivid red eyes and using the hand that doesn't adorn a glove at the moment to show him the Mark that resides near my collarbone.

His eyes leave mine to stare at what I'm showing him, appearing to soften for the slightest moment before the emotions seal off, leaving me out in the cold. He untangles himself from me before speaking. "I don't have a Mark or a mate, hedgehog." His words are laced with finality as he again turns away from me and begins to walk off.

But I catch sight of something I hadn't really noticed before. The color is so contrasting against his fur that it's hard to miss when he shifts his torso a certain way, like, say, making the move to turn around.

" _Liar!"_ I yell as I make another grab for him, much to his chagrin. I keep my gloved hand firmly on his fluffy white chest while my bare hand slowly trails to a certain spot on his stomach. Parting the fur, I see vibrant blue shaped into the silhouette of the head of a hedgehog. The quills are long and curved, and the eyes show confidence and cockiness, a true representation of me. I trail my fingers over it a few times before looking up into Shadow's defeated eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

He gives a tired sigh before bringing his hands up to cup my face gently in his palms. My eyes close in bliss at the feeling, and I feel my ears lower. The gentle rubbing along my cheeks urges me to open my eyes, which I manage to do partly.

His eyes are soft and his voice is earnest when he speaks, but it does nothing to stop the shattering of my heart. "We can't be together, Sonic. It's too dangerous. I'm sorry…"

I don't— _can't—_ stop him when he steps away from me. All I can do is watch as he pulls a purple Chaos Emerald from his quills and mutters, "Chaos Control," before disappearing in a flash of light.

I hadn't realized I'd sunk to my knees until Rouge walks closer to stand beside me. "Sonic, I... don't know what to say. I had no idea you guys were Chaos Bound. I was just telling him that someone out there who was happy and nice all the time would be the perfect person to balance him out. I just didn't know it would be you," she tells me sincerely.

I climb back to my feet and frantically grab her shoulders when I demand, "Tell me _everything_ you know about him. Why does he think it's dangerous for us to be together?"

I've never felt so at a loss before in my life.

* * *

This chapter was actually becoming rather long which is why I split it into two parts. Thanks again for all the support!


	6. But We're Meant To Be? Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~6~**

 **-But We're Meant To Be...? Pt. 2-**

Rouge looks completely out of her element at my unusual show of desperation. She uncomfortably places her hands on mine gripping her shoulders and begins to speak calmly, like she's approaching a wild animal. "Look, Sonic, I can't just tell you everything I know. It's not my place, really…"

My hands drop from her shoulders limply as I lower my head.

"But…" she continues in an encouraging tone that causes some hope to fill my watering emerald eyes.

"I can tell you this much. He lives in Hill Top Zone, away from the population in the pine forest. His intentions are in the right place, so don't think he's being a jerk just because. I think he mentioned something about a prophecy Dr. Eggman found, and that's really all I can tell you."

I give her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Rouge. I understand why you can't tell me everything. You wouldn't be a good friend if you did, but I appreciate your help anyway."

"No problem, Blue. Now take this Emerald before I decide to keep it for myself," she says as she once again offers me the dark blue Chaos Emerald.

I take it carefully into my palm and feel the energy pulsating wildly. Having this chaotic gem reminds me of something. "Hey, Rouge, does Shadow trying to collect all the Chaos Emeralds have something to do with Eggman?"

She places a hand on her hip as she gazes at the changing sky. "…yeah, I believe so."

I nod to myself. _Okay, so that gives me something to work with. If he's trying to collect all the Emeralds, then he's going to need the ones that Tails and I have, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know where the last one is either._ With a confident smirk I turn my green eyes back to Rouge. "Say, Rouge? Do you think you could ask Knux to do something for me?"

She arches an eyebrow in my direction. "What do you need?"

"Ask him to allow teleportation onto the island, just until Shadow and I get there." My voice is confident when I say this. I will get Shadow to change his mind. Besides, a fight with Eggman is a fight I'm always in on.

She seems to understand what I'm planning and gives me a playful smirk. "Sure thing. I should be going back up anyway. I've been gone for a couple of days. I'm sure he's wondering what I've been up to. See ya later, Blue!" Her deep violet wings spread out as she takes flight, and I call out a "Thanks!" to her retreating form.

Very early signs of morning light are beginning to show, and my fatigue begins to make itself apparent at that moment. I cover a very wide yawn before trying to figure out my next move. _I definitely need to catch some Z's before I do anything major._

My ears twitch as they pick up the sound of a jet engine, and I turn to see the X Tornado heading right in my direction. _He transformed the plane? He either ran into trouble or wanted to get here really fast._

Making a quick, smooth landing, my little brother hops out of the plane and makes his way to my side. Before I can ask him what happened, I notice his inquisitive blue eyes taking in my appearance.

"You look rough, bro. What happened?" he asks seriously.

I try to see what he sees but just chalk it up to the fact that I probably look really exhausted. "A lot... but I'll tell you later. Why is the plane transformed?" I redirect the attention to him.

The aura around him becomes solemn, and I regret having left him on his own. "I ran into Dr. Eggman."

I immediately grab his shoulders and inspect him to see if he's all right. "What did he do?"

"Well, ya see…"

' _Why couldn't Sonic have just waited for me? There aren't even any Emeralds in this Zone,' the kitsune thinks with a pout as he flies the Tornado over the ruins of an ancient society._

' _I hope he doesn't get into any trouble on his own, or worse forget that we're supposed to meet up and I end up having to chase him across the Zones.' This is thought with a fond shake of his head as he reads the scans on the dashboard out of habit more than anything. There isn't supposed to be anything in Aquatic Ruin, after all._

 _The large red beacon heading right towards him kick-starts his heart and forces him to react on instinct. Pulling the plane into a barrel roll to avoid the missile, he hits the red button located on top of the left handle of his steering wheel, activating the plane's shift from the Tornado to the X Tornado._

 _In a matter of seconds, the plane is flying at speeds nearing the sound barrier, ready for battle._

" _HOHOHOHO! Give it up! You're no match for me! Now hand over your Chaos Emerald and I'll let you go… for now," the sound of the evil genius' voice echoes as he makes his demand with malicious intent._

 _The two-tailed fox twists his face in worry before it settles into determination. "I'm not giving you anything, Egghead!" he exclaims in mockery before flying his plane towards where he can see a large hovering aircraft waiting for him. It's different from the other winged fortresses they'd seen before, this one slim and silver in color, probably with an abundance of hidden compartments holding deadly weapons and lasers._

 _Quickly pressing another button, the kid genius sends a barrage of bullets towards the enemy craft in hopes of damaging it, making haste to swing up and out of the way of firing range in case of return fire._

 _Taking a look back, he sees that the bullets did nothing to the armor on his enemy's ship. The fox growls as the Eggman laughs at his pitiful attempt. "Is that all you got, fox boy? Or are you just trying to stall for that pesky blue hedgehog?" the scientist inquires subtly._

" _My brother's not here!" the young fox answers reflexively before realizing how big of a mistake that could be. 'Dang it! Why do I always do that?' His thoughts are frantic before he attempts another attack on the Doctor, who might try to take advantage of the situation._

 _Pressing a red button on his dashboard sends a bombardment of missiles towards the stationary craft of Dr. Eggman. Upon being mere feet away from impact, though, the craft reveals hidden lasers from unseen hatches that slice through the missiles like butter, decimating them before they're even a threat._

" _Now that that's taken care of, let's get down to business. I know you have a Chaos Emerald. Like I suggested before, you hand it over to me and I won't harm you… now. It's a good deal. I suggest you take it." The Doctor's voice is calm, with an underlying tone of deadliness that causes the fur on the back of the kitsune's neck to stand on end._

' _What do I do? Eggman isn't usually this serious unless he really has something he thinks is going to work. If I give him this Emerald now, things can turn out bad later… If Sonic were here, this wouldn't be a problem.' Tails takes out the light blue Chaos Emerald they'd just gotten from Chemical Plant Zone and stares at it for a long moment. 'Wait a minute…'_

 _Thinking of a plan hastily, the fox places the Emerald into a compartment used to draw energy specifically from the Emeralds. He flies the X Tornado to face the Doctor and begins to build up the energy in his laser for a final attempt at an attack. 'If this doesn't work… I'm done for.'_

" _W-what are you doing?" Dr. Eggman asks slowly when he realizes the kitsune isn't about to comply with his demands._

" _Take this, Doctor!' Tails' thumb presses the button, and the laser launches from his plane, causing the whole area to be enveloped in white._

" _NOOOO!" The Doctor's frantic screams are heard as the laser makes a direct hit, damaging his machine and resulting in the ship's descent from the air._

 _Taking advantage of his possible victory, Tails turns the X Tornado in the direction of Casino Night Zone and flies at jet speeds out of the area. 'No use in sticking around. I don't know if that will keep him down for long, and I need to tell Sonic about this.' Even though the situation is dire, a small smile manages to worm its way on to his face at the single-handed victory._

I pull my little brother into a hug, glad that he made it out of the situation okay. "I'm proud of you, buddy. You put ol' Egghead in his place. Now I think _I_ should hold the Emeralds so he doesn't go after you again, okay?" I tell him when I pull back from the hug.

He nods and pulls the light blue Emerald from his tails and hands it to me. "Sure. So what's our next move? Did you get the Emerald here?" he asks me once I put the Emerald in my quills with the other two.

I hesitate for a moment before trying to formulate a plan of action in my head. "Well, I just learned some more info on what Eggman could be up to, but it's minimal. There's apparently some prophecy he's trying to fulfill that at least involves the Emeralds. And, uhh, my Chaos Bound, Shadow, is involved somehow, too."

Tails looks surprised at this news and asks the most obvious question: "Did you talk to him? Are things settled between you two now?"

I sigh and shake my head. "Yeah, I talked to him, sort of. He apparently thinks it'll be too dangerous for us to be together. I think it has something to do with the prophecy Rouge mentioned," I explain.

"You saw Rouge as well?"

"Yeah, the two are friends somehow. Look, Shadow is collecting Emeralds too, which means the two of us are going to have to meet again. Listen, I'm going to need you to do me a favor. I need you to go and do research on any possible prophecies that might involve Shadow and me. No, that's too vague… maybe Chaos Bound? I'm sorry that I don't have much information right now, but this could be important since it involves Eggman. I'm going to go find Shadow and finish trying to get the rest of the Emeralds, and maybe I'll try and do something about Egghead," I explain to my little brother while thinking of all of this on the fly.

Tails considers this before running back to the plane and returning quickly with something in his hand. "Okay, take this Wrist Com. and keep me informed on anything important. I'll head back and do the research like you asked. Plus, it'll be better if I'm back because Cosmo could be ready to bloom soon."

I take the orange watch-like communicator and strap it just under the glove on my left wrist. "Okay, thanks, bro! I'll keep you updated!" I wave and start towards the exit of the Zone.

"See ya! And get some rest!" I hear Tails call before I'm out of earshot.

 _Will do, buddy. I definitely need it._

~XxX~

It took a lot longer to get to Hill Top than I thought, and even longer to find this log cabin nestled in the pine forest. I can barely keep my eyes open, despite the sun's bright rays. I yawn then lean heavily against the wooden door as I begin to knock, hoping Shadow is here.

When I nearly slip down the closed door from falling asleep, I realize that the place is empty. _Please let the door be unlocked. Please…_ I try the handle and the door comes open, much to my relief. I don't even look around much, but from what I can see the place looks hardly stayed in.

"I hope he doesn't mind me crashing here for a bit. I wonder if he has any food. I haven't eaten since we started this adventure," I say aloud to myself. I yawn and then wander to what I can see is the kitchen and open the white icebox.

Surprisingly, there's only a plate of sandwiches… and nothing else. _Strange._ I take one and scarf it down before heading to the bedroom, the couch not even entering my mind. I collapse on the soft black covers and sheets and fall asleep almost immediately.

The smell of cinnamon and coffee comforts me in my dreams.

~XxoOoxX~

This entire trip was a damn waste, and all of this oil will take _forever_ to wash out of my fur. My mood can't possibly get any sourer than it already is. Being around Sonic and seeing his spirit up close, not to mention having him so near… my instincts were telling me to take what was mine and never let go.

He teased me without even realizing it; the way his face would light up with red when we locked gazes, the soft brush of his fur every time we touched, and how good he felt when pressing his body into mine… I growl angrily and rub my quills frantically as if to scrub away the images.

Then I had to leave him in such pain and make my way to _this_ hellhole when there isn't even a goddamn Emerald here! Oil Ocean Zone is full of nothing but heat and heaps of oil that no one seems to be using for whatever reason.

The moment I got to this place, I could tell there wasn't an Emerald around due to the lack of Chaos energy, but I decided to look anyway. A lot of use that did me. Now I have oily fur and nothing to show for it.

I know going further would be a waste of time, seeing as the Doctor's hidden lair is located in Metropolis Zone, so he most likely has the Emerald there. I have no other choice but to head back home and think of another plan of action. Taking out the purple Emerald, I do a quick Chaos Control and appear in my cabin home, ready to hop in the shower to get this disgusting oil out of my fur.

I can tell something's wrong the moment my senses detect another presence as well as… Chaos Emeralds? _Perhaps it's Rouge?_ I think doubtfully as I begin to search around. No one is in the living room, and upon inspection of the kitchen, I notice someone's eaten one of the sandwiches I'd made for the rare times I become hungry for physical food.

 _Some type of food thief? Maybe they were starving, perhaps? That doesn't explain the Chaos Emeralds, though…_ Confused upon this odd development, I move to the only other place this person could be hiding and feel dread and warmth simultaneously fill me at the sight of the cobalt hedgehog snuggled under my covers.

 _How did he know this was my place?_ I don't think about it for too long. _Rouge. I wonder what else she told him…_

I slowly walk towards his slumbering form and take note of the peaceful expression on his face. My expression softens, and I don't fight the urge to rub the fur on his head softly. He gives a soft sigh and nuzzles into my hand cutely.

 _I shouldn't be doing this. I really shouldn't be doing this._ But when my lips come in contact with the fur on his forehead, I can't say that I regret it.

~XxX~

The shower worked wonders on my tense muscles and helped dislodge the slimy oil from my fuzzy coat, _thank goodness_. I feel refreshed and back up to standards as I make my way back to my bedroom. The sight of dark emerald eyes gazing at me from under the comforter upon my bed stops me up short and forces an intake of air through my lungs.

It's early evening now, and the rays from the setting sun cast him in a soft, glowing light that only enhances his beauty. I have to tear my eyes away before the sight of him overwhelms me and I do something foolish.

"Sorry I crashed on your bed. I wasn't really thinking." His voice is quiet and still full of sleep.

I sigh as I prepare to lock away my outward appearance of emotions. Despite my natural want for him to be around, it isn't the best idea. If we keep spending time together, he'll end up getting too close to me, and one thing might lead to another. Disaster lies in our future if I don't find a way to stop the Doctor.

"You shouldn't be here in the first place. Did Rouge tell you about this place?" I question with little feeling as I walk over to the window and gaze at the pine forest instead of the hedgehog occupying my bed.

"Yeah, she did. And I came here because despite what you say, I believe I can help you," he tells me with a renewed vigor to his voice as he sits up in my bed, and I see, out of the corner of my eye, him rubbing the sleep from his eyes with an oddly bare hand, something I've noticed for a while now.

"Your help is not needed. In fact, it would make things worse," I tell him calmly.

He seems hurt by my words but doesn't give up. "I've fought Robuttnik since I was ten years old, and suddenly you think I can't handle him? You can't keep me away from this, Shadow, so I suggest you get that idea out of your head right now," he tells me with a seriousness that seems to resonate within me.

I finally turn to him fully and see him standing beside my bed with a look of determination blazing in his vibrant green eyes. _His will to never give up, that spark of fire that burns deep in his soul… These are some of the traits I'm really starting to have a weakness for in him._

When I can finally control myself enough, I respond in a smooth, expressionless manner. "You don't even know the full reason as to _why_ I don't want your help with this, hedgehog."

He steps closer to me as he says in an urging tone, "Then tell me."

I shake my head and look down again, noticing the odd missing glove, and go to the dresser beside my bed to pull out one of the gloves from the only other pair of gloves I have. I calmly lift his bare hand to examine the slightly ruffled and abused fawn-colored fur before placing the glove on. I ask a question to hopefully direct his attention away from the whole "helping me" idea. "Why exactly are you walking around with only one glove?"

I raise my eyes to watch him as he answers and drink in the fact that his face is colored in that beautiful warm blush again. "Well, ya see… there was this incident in Chemical Plant Zone while Tails and I were on our way to collect the Emerald from there. Nearly slipped into the acidic water. Thanks to my bro, I only lost my glove." He looks completely sheepish, and I just want to kiss the red all over his face. Maybe even make him redder…

I cough awkwardly and walk a distance away from him to get such thoughts from my head.

"Shads, I know you're collecting the Emeralds, and I can help you with that. How many do you have?" _Shads?_ His inquiry brings me back to the situation at hand, thankfully, and I respond automatically.

"Two."

"Well, you're in luck! I have three, _and_ I also know the location of another Emerald." He teases me with this information, and I have no choice but to bite.

Turning to stare at his shining green eyes, I ask, "Where is it located?"

"Well—" He stops short as if remembering something and begins to wag his finger at me. "Ah, ah! You have to agree to let me tag along before I tell you where it is."

 _Damn this smart, adorable hedgehog._ I cross my arms and finally agree grudgingly. "Fine."

His whole face lights up with joy, and it takes everything I have not to show him how much that affects me.

"Great! Okay, so you already know Rouge, but you don't know her Chaos Bound, Knuckles. He's the last Echidna of his kind and lives on this floating island named Angle Island. He guards the Master Emerald that keeps the island afloat, among many other things that I have no clue of ever understanding.

" _Anyway_ , Knux told me a while ago that there was an Emerald located on the island, and we thought it was best to keep it up there for safekeeping for the time being." He looks absolutely pleased with himself after his explanation. "Bet you're glad you have me around to help now, huh?"

His smugness is oddly attractive. "As long as I can keep the prophecy from occurring, then I can honestly answer the question as 'yes,'" I tell him in the end.

His ear twitches before he asks a curious question. "Yeah, what is that prophecy about, anyway? Why does it somehow involve you and me?"

 _Ah, questions I can't answer. Got to love them._ I turn my back and begin to exit the room, leaving my response behind. "I agreed to let you tag along, not ask questions."

I don't even have to see his face to know he's pouting.

* * *

Thanks so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites! :D

I hope you liked this chapter! They head to Angel Island next week ;)


	7. Escapades Through Angel Island

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~7~**

 **-Escapades Through Angel Island-**

I shake off my displeasure at his continued indifference and follow him out of the room. I can tell that he's definitely ready to get moving by how quickly he's heading towards the exit and decide to plan ahead.

Speedily running to the kitchen, I snag another sandwich and begin to stuff it in my mouth. _Who knows when I'll get another meal?_ I zip out of the house and come face-to-face with Shadow's raised eyebrow.

I give a helpless shrug and swallow. "Thanks for the sandwich…?"

He shakes his head slowly with a sigh. "So how do you plan on us getting to this floating island?" he inquires while looking at me closely for my response.

"Well… uhh… I actually didn't think that far." I chuckle nervously while rubbing my quills in a sheepish manner.

A look of irritation crosses his crimson eyes, making me feel bad. "If only I knew where the place was located, I could Chaos Control us there," he seems to mutter to himself.

 _Chaos Control… he did do that with a single Emerald before. How is that possible?_ "Shadow, how can you do Chaos Control with only one Emerald? I've only ever done it with all seven in my Super form. I didn't know it was possible with just a single one until I saw you do it," I ask him curiously, hoping maybe he'll teach me how to do it. That would make getting to Angel Island a cinch.

He looks intrigued by my admission before he explains. "Well, it's relatively simple. Actually, I would think it would be harder to do with all seven, seeing as you have to control all seven chaotic energies at once. The only difference is that you'd have more energy to work with, with seven versus one.

"When using a single Emerald, you have to balance the energy out. And what I mean by that is you use half of your energy along with half of the Emerald's when teleporting. If you try and just use all of the energy from the Emerald, it would backlash with negative consequences to the user. Try and use all of your energy and you'd either end up severely fatigued or fatal results may occur. Half and half will leave you fine, understand?"

Just from his explanation, I can tell he's very knowledgeable in the use of Chaos energy. I just don't know why that is. I nod my head in understanding. "I got it. Now let me try and get us up on Angel Island, okay?" I ask while taking out the yellow Emerald from my quills.

Shadow's expression looks worried as he answers hesitantly, "I don't know…"

 _Aww, he's concerned about me…_ I smile brightly and grab ahold of his hand as I stand by his side. "Don't worry, Shadow. I'll be fine!" I tell him enthusiastically as I close my eyes and hold up the Emerald like I saw him once do.

I take a deep breath and sense the energy inside me, bright and warm. Then, I sense the energy inside the Emerald, chaotic and electric. _Okay, so I have to match them somehow. I sure hope this works…_

I try to get my energy to match that of the Emerald's, but it doesn't seem to be working out right. I feel frustrated and worried, but I don't want to say anything to Shadow. _Come on, think! What did he say again? …wait! He didn't say match the energies—he just said only use half and half. Okay, so how do I do that?_

I swallow a growl and try again. I think of the tropical flora that covers the outskirts of Angel Island, wanting to get there. I feel the Emerald reacting to my wish and try to offer up the same amount of energy I feel the Emerald expelling. "Chaos Control!"

As I keep my eyes closed in hopes that I actually did it right, it takes the squeezing of Shadow's hand in mine for me to reopen my eyes. The very same healthy vegetation of the forests on Angel Island I was thinking of lie before me. _I did it!_

I turn my wide smile to Shadow and see him gazing at me with a pleased expression. "Good job, Sonic."

The praise warms my heart, and I say in a cocky yet grateful tone, "Told you not to worry."

The connection between us seems to grow stronger the longer we maintain eye contact. I feel my eyelids lower slightly and use the hand I'm still holding to move closer to my mate in hopes of… maybe just…

The warmth in my hand disappears as Shadow distances himself and walks towards the thick forest in front of us. "So where is this Emerald supposed to be, exactly?" I hear him ask with utmost indifference.

I feel my ears lower in discontent before I move to catch up. _I'll figure you out soon enough… You can't keep doing this forever._

I don't answer and simply take off in the direction I know the altar of the Master Emerald is located, knowing full well Shadow will follow and keep up.

~XxoOoxX~

The Doctor rubs his large mustache in contemplation as he stares at the screen monitoring the activities of his nemesis. After watching Shadow's continuous attempts at trying to prevent the prophecy from occurring, the evil scientist gives a maniacal laugh.

Something had occurred to him upon looking at a calendar sporting images of him for every month—this month being him sporting a black-and-red umbrella as rain pours down. With an evil gleam to his eyes, he tells the monitor in front of him, "Try all you like, Shadow. In due time you and he will be one, and when that happens my plans will be that much closer to succeeding!"

Taking a break from watching the hedgehogs for the moment, he changes his monitor to a different feed. "I believe it's time to check up on that kitsune. Can't have him doing something that could interfere with my plans," Dr. Eggman mutters as he watches as the fox rapidly types away on a highly advanced computer of his own.

"Hmm… what is he up to?" Making quick taps on the keys of his computer, he begins to hack into the fox's computer and catches sight of the things he's looking into.

With amusement in his eyes, the Doctor gives a hearty laugh. "Ha! He won't be able to find any information on the prophecy that way. The only way he'd find anything out is if he went to Aquatic Ruin and looked it up himself, and from the looks of things, he doesn't even know the slightest bit of information!"

Feeling overconfident for once, the mad scientist turns off his monitor and gets up to leave the room.

"I believe it's time for me to start building the machine that will make it possible for me to harness all three powers…." With pep in his step, he begins to whistle a tune, mentally dubbing it his theme song for when he takes over the world.

~XxoOoxX~

The final wave of trees passes, and I slow to a walk as I gaze at the broken stone pillars that surround the altar. Broken and crumbling stairs lead up to the Master Emerald and Knuckles, who's lying right in front of it.

Feeling Shadow right behind me, I make a quick dash and stand before my old friend. "What's up, Knux?"

He opens his eyes irritably from his reclined position against the Master and says in a grumbling manner, "You know, it took everything in me not to go and hunt you down the moment I sensed you on my Island. Had to trust bat girl on the fact that it was most likely _you_ who had arrived."

I cross my arms and roll my eyes. _Always the hothead._ At age twenty, Knuckles doesn't look that much different. Just a bit taller and buffer, but still the same Knucklehead.

He turns his amethyst eyes towards the hedgehog next to me, whom I still feel a little frustrated with. "Why'd you bring him with you? I sense something odd about him." His tone is surly, as if he's ready to pick a fight if he has to.

I feel my spines bristle at the thought and snap, "He's my Chaos Bound. Didn't Rouge tell you anything?"

He moves to stand and shrugs. "Yeah. Doesn't mean I trust him."

I let out a growl and make a move to step forward when I feel a hand on my shoulder. "It's fine. I'm used to it." Shadow's tone is calm, and looking into his eyes I see the appreciativeness for my attempts at standing up for him.

"I have no desire to do any harm, Echidna. We're just here for the Emerald, and then we'll be out of your hair… err… fur." His slipup causes me to give him a curious look. _Hair? Don't they say that on Earth?"_

"Knuckles, just let them be." The fluttering of wings alerts us to Rouge's arrival as she lands next to her mate.

Giving a wink and a wave, she greets, "Hi, boys! Glad you made it! Took a lot of convincing to allow Knuckles here to let you guys even Chaos Control here." She adds in a sensual smirk in her mate's direction.

His face alights as he crosses his arms over his chest and huffs. "Well, how is it even possible to just use a single Emerald to get up here, anyway?"

Shadow looks exasperated, and I decide to answer for him. "It just is, okay? Now where is the Emerald so we can leave your 'precious island'?"

Knuckles eyes the hedgehog next to me for a moment before giving in. "Ice Cap Zone, last time I checked."

My eyes widen, and I look off in the distance before looking back at him incredulously. "Way out _there_?"

He smirks at my disbelief before responding in a snooty attitude. "Yep. Hope you have fun on your trip."

I growl and turn away without a good-bye, leading the stoic hedgehog next to me into the jungle as we dash through the clustered trees. "You two don't seem to like each other," my Bound states matter-of-factly.

I turn to him and explain. "No, it's just that we're rivals/friends. We get into arguments a lot, but we're still friends before anything."

He hums beside me. We travel in silence for a while, running at an easy pace, pushing away vines and large leaves from our path as they obscure our vision.

I can hear the uncertainty in Shadow's voice when he speaks next. "The Master Emerald…"

I turn curious emerald eyes toward him. "Yeah, what about it?"

"It's… incredible. Its power is like nothing I've ever felt before. It's like its own entity. I can't even begin to fathom the powers in which that Emerald possesses." I've never heard him sound so fascinated, almost excited like a child discovering something new and out of this world.

I smile fondly at him, seeing the way his crimson eyes light up with rapt interest. He turns to me and points at the shiny rings passing by us rapidly as we go with the same spark in his eyes. "And see those rings? I've collected quite a bit of them through my travels, but I don't understand their use or the energy they hold."

I laugh good-naturedly and try my best to explain. "Well, they're our currency. But they're also useful for other things."

He tilts his head in consideration before nodding in acceptance. I notice up ahead that the green spongy grass abruptly leads to a pool of cold, wet water and quickly guide Shadow in the direction of a higher route, hopefully going unnoticed by him.

"Hey, uhh, Shadow? You seem to know a lot about Chaos energy. Would you mind telling me why that is?"

My simple curious question erases the emotions off his face that I was starting to really enjoy. The usual indifference doesn't take its place, though. It looks more like uncertainty. "I don't think that's a good idea, hedgehog."

I don't let this answer deter me. "Okay, then where are you from? I've never seen you around. You also mentioned 'hair' earlier, and that's an Earth term… How'd you hear about it?"

Apparently my questions are too invasive for my Bound by the look of frustration that crosses his face. "I don't want to talk about it right now."

I sigh in understanding. "Fine, but that just means you'll have to tell me later. For now I guess I can tell you about myself then, huh?" I ask rhetorically, enjoying the sun's warm rays and the wind brushing through my fur as Shadow and I leap across a wide-open valley with nothing but water and an unstable wooden bridge down below.

"Well, I guess I can start off by saying I don't really remember my parents. I was born on Christmas Island, and the people around each had a hand in raising me. I had to learn how to fend for myself at an early age, but I somehow managed.

"I've always been fast for as long as I can remember. I always wanted to go out and explore the world, have an adventure on my own, ya know?" I ask, turning to see Shadow listening with rapt attention before I continue. "When I was ten I finally got that chance. There was this madman who started wreaking havoc on an island not too far off. South Island. He'd heard that it held the Chaos Emeralds, Emeralds that in the wrong hands could mark disaster for the world.

"Well, as soon as I caught wind of the chaos he was causing, I took my chance and decided to try and save the inhabitants of that island." I slow to a walk and then stop altogether, remembering that very first adventure.

"What happened?" Shadow asks me gently, sensing my disturbance.

I look up and give a false smile to play off my mood. "It wasn't easy. I was just a kid, and no matter how fast I can run, it doesn't change the fact that I could have been killed at any moment during that time."

Shadow's quiet for a moment as he watches me. "You put on a brave face when you shouldn't have to."

I shrug. "Yeah, well, who else is going to save this world from him?"

"Just remember you're not alone. You have friends… and me," my mate whispers in the end.

I feel my heart thud in my chest as I gaze at the dark hedgehog before me. Taking a chance, I step closer and demand, "Does this mean you've changed your mind? You'll stop fighting me? Us?"

He meets my gaze full-on, his stance strong, as if we're about to have a battle of wills. "Sonic…"

"Shadow, please. _Please…_ " I finally beg.

I can see it in his eyes when he finally breaks… gives in. "Alright… I don't have the strength to fight you anymore."

I can hardly breathe at this admission. _Is he really…? Can we finally…?_ I step closer and reach out to grasp his warm hands as I ask softly, "So can I hold your hands whenever I want?"

He nods his head slowly, keeping his eyes locked on my every move. I move even closer and daringly snuggle into the warm fur on his chest that I've been _dying_ to feel since I first laid eyes upon it. "Can I snuggle against you, too?"

I hear his chest vibrate as he hums in response. I pull back a little and stare at his lips almost hungrily. I swallow before asking thickly, "Can I kiss you…?"

I see his lips move to answer my question, and my ears listen intently for the affirmative, but his words render me speechless. "I think that would be pushing it."

I nearly recoil from him in my hurt. _Why does he keep doing this?_ I close my eyes and try to appreciate what he's allowed me thus far when the feeling of warm, inviting lips graces mine.

I hum softly at the sensation, having never experienced it before, and whine a bit when he pulls back abruptly, only allowing it to be chaste.

"Come, now, we must be going. You did make it seem like this place was far away," Shadow says while pulling away from me, but I notice he doesn't let go of my hand.

I blush red and begin to lead us through the jungle at high speeds again. _Maybe I'm finally getting through to him._

~XxoOoxX~

I can no longer stand to keep the distance between us anymore. After learning of his past and hearing how strong he's had to be his whole life, I want nothing more than to be able to keep him safe and happy. I look at the hedgehog running at supersonic speeds beside me and know that I would do anything for him. And the fire in his eyes when he looks at me doesn't help the situation at all. He's persistent. I don't stand a chance in hell.

Turning my blood red orbs back to the waterfall-decorated jungle before me, I let the worry of the prophecy seep into my mind. I wasn't planning on kissing him, really. Maria and I used to watch romance films all the time, and I know that it is a very intimate gesture that nine times out of ten leads to something much more… but the look on his face when I denied him. When he realizes how much control he has over me, he'll probably milk it for all it's worth—but I wouldn't have it any other way.

The clustered forest before us suddenly disappears and becomes a wide-open field of bright green grass. Sonic turns and gives me a coy look before he lets go of my hand and speeds ahead as if daring me to catch him.

 _Challenge accepted._

I force the Chaos energy inside me to push me forward faster, feeling the heat under my shoes increase due to my speed. I catch up to the speeding azure hedgehog and make sure we have eye contact when I give him a smirk.

He returns the gesture for a moment before stopping dead in his tracks as if in fear, causing me to fly ahead and have to find my way back to his side.

The pupils in his eyes seem to have shrunk to pinpricks, and this sight alone causes my worry to rise.

I grab his shoulders firmly and try to make him regain focus. "Hedgehog, what's wrong?"

The sound of my voice appears to bring him back to reality, and he looks horrified that I've seen him like this before he puts on that brave face again—even though I can see right through it. "N-nothing. I'm fine. Just remembered something. Umm, w-we should be careful in the next area, okay?"

I'm not buying anything he's selling, but I nod anyway and walk closely beside him. We walk through a short gathering of trees before an area full of mist due to the massive waterfall is revealed. The mist is so thick it makes it hard to see barely a foot in front of you.

 _I've noticed how skittish he is around water. Maybe this has something to do with it?_ I notice the trembles that rack through his form that he tries so desperately to hide.

"O-okay, so we should walk very carefully, got it, Shadow? There's this breakaway bridge that we can avoid, and we'd be able to avoid _Hydro-City_ if we do so." He practically spits the word in revulsion.

 _He definitely has something against water. Is it aquaphobia? He can tell me if it is…_ "Look, Sonic, if you have a fear of water you can tell me," I inform him softly.

He turns to look at me in surprise while taking a step forward, which in hindsight is a very bad move.

The heart-wrenching terror I see in his eyes as he begins to fall is like a punch in the gut. Without even thinking about it, I dive after his anguished screams, intent on doing whatever it takes to keep him safe.

 _Whatever it takes._

I see him hit the water and begin to sink like a rock, and seconds later I slice through the cool water in search of his form. I see him desperately trying to flail to the surface, his panic apparent with every move. For once I thank all of the training I had aboard the ARK, one of which was swimming.

Kicking my feet and moving my arms in breaststroke formation, I cut through the water quickly and grab onto his thrashing body, making a detour to the surface. I force his head above water and listen to his coughing hacks as he tries desperately to eject the water from his lungs.

His shivering form is clinging to mine seconds later, so I encircle him closely in my arms, wanting to reassure him that I'll keep him safe.

"It's okay, Sonic. I won't let anything happen," I murmur softly in his ear.

He whimpers weakly before he speaks. "Please, Shadow… I don't think I can do this again. I had to be brave the first time with Tails, but… I-I just— _I can't do this again._ "

I sigh against the top of his head and hold him closer. Upon looking around, I realize we're in a huge temple-like city underground. The place looks as if it's been here for centuries and was once a great society. Now, though, it's broken in many places and in ruins. The large windows and somehow lit candles cast the place in an interesting purple lighting.

One thing I haven't noticed: an immediate exit.

"Sonic, I need you to work with me here. How do we get out of this place?" _So I don't have to see you so frightened anymore,_ I finish in my mind while looking at the hedgehog still buried in my arms.

He takes a deep breath before explaining, "The only way out is through a geyser at the end. It leads you right up to the next Zone. If I wasn't so _stupid_ and listened to my own caution, we wouldn't be in this situation!" he yells in anger towards himself.

Not having any of this, I lift his head with my palm and force him to look into my eyes. "This is not your fault. You couldn't see where you were going. It was an accident. Now listen. I _am_ going to get you through this. Do you trust me?"

His eyes glisten as he nods.

"Good. Now tell me more about yourself to keep your mind off of things while I get us through this Zone," I command.

He hesitates before saying meekly, "Well, I first met Tails on Westside Island when he was only four. He, like me, doesn't remember his parents, but it was much harder for him because of the mutation with his tails. People treated him badly because of it. He hated his name, so I chose that one for him in hopes that he would look at his tails as something special, not something to be ashamed of. His been my little bro ever since."

I nod in sympathy and understanding. I too understand what it feels like to be mistreated because of being different and what it feels like to have a sibling you want to love and protect. I gesture for him to take a deep breath, as we have to go underwater to move forward. He does so with resistance while flattening his ears to his skull and shutting his eyes tightly.

I make quick work to guide him through the water, getting help from an underwater current that pushes us up and onto gravely warm golden-colored bricks. Sonic looks relieved to be out of the water but positively exhausted; so without a word I pick him up into my arms and begin to travel through the stone-cracked pillars and sloped paths, making sure to avoid the water as much as possible.

He tries to protest for a short instant, before settling more deeply into my arms. The look in his emerald eyes is beyond grateful, and I can't fight the urge to lay an innocent kiss upon his soft lips, enjoying the warm sensation that begins to fill my chest at the touch.

I'm starting to think I'm in love, and it'll make you do crazy things for the person you're in it with.

* * *

Oh wow there's a lot going on with this chapter, heh. What are your thoughts and impressions? I have answers if you have questions!

I hope this flowed well and nothing seemed too rushed ^^' Oh and if anyone was wondering, the song Eggman was whistling was "I am the Eggman" Thought it would be a good song choice ;)

Thanks so much to all of my reviewers! I apologize to my Guest reviewers for not being able to respond to you directly, but I have to say that you guys are _amazing!_


	8. Inching Our Way Through Twists And Turns

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~8~**

 **-Inching Our Way Through Twists And Turns-**

"Woohoo!" I exclaim in excitement as Shads blazes across the water after going down yet another twisting slide.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," he purrs in my ear, eliciting a blush on my cheeks.

"Yeah, well… you've been helping me not think about my fears and enjoy the crazy architecture of this place. Thank you for that, Shadow," I whisper before kissing the side of his muzzle.

I can barely see it, but his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. "…it was nothing."

After holding onto my mate for one more underwater experience, I know we're at the end when we reach the infamous bridge. "Shads, we're almost at the end. After this bridge gives away we just move to the geyser and we're home free!"

He looks at me curiously before stepping on the bridge, which gives way seconds later. Fans push us forward underwater for only a moment, and then I see what I've been waiting for since we entered this place:

Water that bursts from the ground every few minutes—the only exit.

Shadow begins to head in the direction quickly for my benefit and stands right where the water will soon burst.

"Hold on tight." I don't need to be told twice. The ground begins to shake, and soon we're up in the air, and the damp, cool draft of this place shifts to warm, breezy air. The water abruptly stops, leaving us to plummet back down to the land below.

My yells are not of fear but of delight as I hop out of Shadow's arms and hold onto his hand as we descend through the sky. The wind pushing against us is fierce but not unwelcome, and I enjoy the brief feeling of freefall.

We hit the sloped ground running and go flying through the air again when we reach the curved end, finally coming to a standstill when we land on the flat, grassy path before us.

I can feel the heat on my flushed cheeks from the excitement as I turn to Shadow with a bright smile. "That was way past cool! Don't ya think, Shadow? Come on! This place is _amazing_ to travel through!" In my excitement I try and pull Shadow along, only to realize that I can't seem to move forward.

I turn back in curiosity to see Shadow standing exactly where he was before when we landed, not having moved an inch. _Seriously? I was pulling pretty hard…_

"Don't you think you should rest for a bit first? You were exhausted before and appear to be running on adrenaline now. I don't want you to crash on me…" he tells me with a serious tone of voice.

I take my hand back, placing it on my hip while I wave the other in the air nonchalantly. "No need to worry, Shads. I've done this kind of thing most of my life. I'll be fine."

He crosses his arms over his nicely toned chest and gives me a firm stare. "While that may be true, I'm going to suggest you take a short rest while I scout and get some food."

I take a breath to argue, then let it out when I realize he won't budge, figuratively and literally. "Fine," I pout reluctantly. "But only for a little while. We still have to get through this Zone and the next before we get to Ice Cap."

He nods in agreement before pausing for a moment. "You've called me Shads a few times before… What is that, exactly?"

 _What?_ I look at him in surprise. "It's a nickname." _Well, more like a pet name…_ I add with a blush mentally. "It's like when you call me 'hedgehog'. You've never heard of a nickname?" I'm pretty baffled at this oddity.

His face shows uncertainty as he looks towards some of the silvery cylindrical pillars that decorate Marble Garden Zone. "Well, yes… it's just I've never had one before."

"Whoa, that place you grew up in must've been pretty strict," I note in disbelief.

"You have no idea." The angry bitterness in his voice is startling, and I again feel my curiosity peak about his past. Before I can broach the question again, Shadow interrupts me.

"Sleep. I'll be back soon." _Is it wrong that I love the commanding tone in his voice?_

I lie on the soft, spongy grass near one of the broken silver pillars and look up at my Bound with a faux bashful expression. "Where's my good-night kiss?"

I see the crimson in his eyes flash before he slowly begins to crawl over my reclining form. My temperature rises drastically at the feel of his fur brushing against mine, his warmth beginning to blanket me in a cocoon. By the time he's at level with my lips, my eyelids have lowered and my breathing is ragged.

My eyes focus on his tan muzzle then sooner than expected lose focus behind the cover of darkness as he seals our lips together. This sensation never gets old. His lips meld against mine in the softest of ways, tasting of the sweetest of spices. I press closer and give a soft moan when he reconnects our lips in an almost tentative, passionate vigor.

Getting lost in the sensations and feeling a bit weak, I sink further on my back and pull my mate further on top of me, having this funny thought to move my legs maybe… around his waist…?

The removal of his lips causes me to moan in dissatisfaction. He stands from my prone from and turns his back to me. "Have a nice rest, hedgehog."

He disappears before I can even say a word.

~XxoOoxX~

The young kitsune lets out a tired yawn as he makes his way back down to his workshop after a long night of research. He'd been up pretty late trying to find even a scrap of information on what the Doctor could possibly have found.

Taking a seat in his comfy computer chair, Tails boots up his supercomputer and begins to consider what little he did manage to find out. _Well, I found out that there might be such a thing as Mobians that possess pure Chaos energy. It's said that if the being with positive energy combines with the being with negative energy, their power alone if activated could destroy planets, since Chaos is never meant to be so tame. They'd need some other energy to balance things out. It's just a theory, but if it's true, what if that has something to do with what Eggman is trying to do?_ The fox ponders with a hint of worry while gazing at his computer screen.

An eerie green glow brings him out of his musings and causes him to sit up straight in his seat. The glow grows brighter, and he turns around to see what it could be, feeling his eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets at the sight of the rosebud getting ready to bloom.

"Oh, Chaos! Cosmo!" Scrambling recklessly out of his seat, his white-tipped tails swishing frantically behind him, Tails moves to stand in front of where Cosmo is surely to be revealed.

The twelve-year-old waits anxiously with his heart pounding as the bud pulses before finally lowering to reveal his nearly lost love.

Sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed is a girl that resembles a being created from plants rather than animals, her hair vibrant green and flowing with two blossomed pink roses on each side of her head. Her dress looks like long white flower petals ending in the same vibrant green as her hair, covered by a long-sleeved forest green top rimmed in sunny yellow. Her shoes are flat and dainty, matching the color of her top, and her skin is a pale beige. She's truly something out of this world.

Tears begin to gather in the cerulean eyes of Tails as he gazes at her and with a wavering voice asks, "Cosmo?"

Her eyelids covered in long think lashes open slowly, revealing vibrant blue eyes similar to the ones of the fox before her. For a moment she doesn't seem to understand what's going on before recognition flashes in her eyes. "Tails?"

Her voice is soft and feminine, filled with doubt before she's lifted into the arms of, unknown to her, her Chaos Bound and spun around in pure joy.

"Oh, Cosmo! I've missed you so much!"

Tears gather in the Seedrian's eyes as well, and she lets out a little giggle while responding, "I've missed you, too, Tails!"

Sitting her gently on her feet, he continues to look at her in blissful wonder. Just hearing her voice again brings a watery smile to his face.

Looking into the jubilant fox's face, Cosmo asks her first question: "Tails, how long has it been?"

He thinks for a moment, his thoughts still scrambled and focused solely on the girl in front of him. "Umm… about four months, maybe."

She looks somewhat disheartened as she responds, "Oh, I hope you've been okay since then…"

His large ears, once perking forward, lower for a moment at the reminder. "I've been okay. Sonic and our friends really helped me through it. Then I realized there was a chance to get you back, and it suddenly felt like a weight was lifted off of my chest."

He gingerly takes her hands in his, and they each blush a shy red.

"Well, I'm so happy to be back! I can't wait to see the others. How are they doing?"

Tails seems to recall the world outside of them and the slight worry from before begins to creep up. He puts the more daunting update on the backburner and chooses to talk about Cosmo's best friend first. "Well, Amy hasn't been around lately. I figure it's because she's going on all the dates she's wanted to have."

Cosmo looks utterly surprised. "You mean she and Sonic actually got together?"

Tails' ear flicks in his puzzlement before realization dawns. "Oh, no! She actually found her Chaos Bound, Scourge. He looks freakily like Sonic. Pretty much explains why she liked him so much in the first place," the fox explains.

Now Cosmo looks confused. "Chaos Bound? What is that?"

A bright flush colors the white fur of Tails' muzzle as he coughs nervously into his fist. "W-well, umm… it's the person you're destined to be with, to put it shortly, based on your Chaos energy."

After hearing this, understanding crosses the female's face before disappointment settles. "Oh. So… do you have a Chaos Bound as well, Tails?" She takes a step away from him while looking down towards the grease-stained cement.

The kit flounders as he tries to fix the situation, unsure as to how he's supposed to tell her. "Uhh… yeah, I do. She's—"

Before he can finish, Cosmo brings her eyes up to stare at him with anger and, more importantly, hurt. "Yeah, well, who is she?"

A sigh of frustration escapes Tails as he responds, "She's standing right in front of me."

Suddenly flustered and a little embarrassed, she manages to splutter, "W-what?"

He brings their hands together again before explaining. "It's you, Cosmo. My Mark is of a blossoming Rose. I don't know how, but you have some Chaos energy, even though you're not Mobian. You should have a Mark on you as well…"

The twelve-year-old girl before him looks happy but unsure as well. _Chaos energy? Is it really possible?_ she wonders before deciding to try and look on her body for the mystery Mark, completely missing the rising blush on the fox's face.

A little gasp leaves her parted lips when she looks upon her right wrist. Twin sunset orange tails tipped in white, not unlike the insignia on a lot of the kid genius' creations, mark her pale beige skin beautifully.

Tails takes a look and feels his heart swell. _So it's true. It's really true. We're Chaos Bound._ They lock eyes, feeling warmth rise to their cheeks, but refuse to look away. The Seedrian takes a step forward and lays a delicate kiss on her destined's cheek, smiling shyly afterward.

Watching as Tails raises a hand to that very place, she decides to shift the conversation away from blush-worthy topics, happy with the fact that the person she fell in love with is the person she's destined for—no matter how unusual it is for plants and animals to get along. "So where is Sonic? Running with the wind, maybe?"

The happy, bubbly feelings in the child genius die down at the thought of his brother. "No, actually, he's most likely with his Chaos Bound on Angel Island getting a Chaos Emerald. Eggman's up to something."

Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Cosmo internally readies herself for another adventure. "Tell me everything."

~XxoOoxX~

I stop a distance away from my cobalt blue mate, still resisting the temptation to go back and get closer to him. I sigh into my hand and look up into the cloud-dotted sky, enjoying the high elevation of this Zone. I close my eyes and really wonder to myself. _Maria… is this the right way to go about things? Have I disappointed you…?_

Letting out a breath, I look around me as some of my inner doubts try to swarm up and strangle me. Maria wanted me to help people, but with the way things are going, I'm going to end up fulfilling the prophecy. And Sonic… I can tell he likes me, but will he feel the same way when he finds out my origins?

Regaining my focus, I notice the many thin trees that populate this garden, all of them housing ripe apples free for the picking. Grabbing an armful, I make my way back to the slumbering hedgehog and arrange the pile near us.

Settling close to his warm form, I become entranced by the simple rising and falling of his chest, his ears that twitch every so often, the soft little smile that graces his lips. My eyes widen when he shifts slightly then snuggles his head against my lap, bringing a hand up to grip onto my fur lightly.

Not really knowing what to do, I slowly reach down and gently stroke between his ears, giving a soft expression at the little purr that rumbles through his chest.

~XxX~

"Are you sure you're okay, Shads? You didn't eat any of those. I feel kind of bad for eating so quickly…" Sonic guiltily states as we ascend the rolling hills of the Zone, a thick forest extending to either side for as far as the eyes can see.

Feeling exasperated yet touched by his concern, I respond yet again with the same answer: "I'm fine. I had some before you woke up." That is not true, but with the abundance of Chaos energy from the Emeralds we have, I do, in fact, feel fine. I just wish I could tell him the complete truth.

"Well, if you say so…" he hesitantly agrees before spotting something ahead of us and zipping to it with glee.

"Come on, come on, _come on!_ These were always so fun!"

I speed up to see what all of the hubbub is about, dodging past one of those remarkably camouflaged robotic spikes. _Not like spikes need any more reason to be avoided._

What I see in front of me is really unremarkable, actually. It's just a big blue spinning top. Standing next to the hyperactive hedgehog, I ask in a completely unimpressed voice, "And what exactly is so _fun_ about this, hedgehog?"

He looks at me with excited eyes before grabbing my hand. "Jump on and I'll show you!"

Feeling suddenly unsure about the situation, I do as told, and almost immediately Sonic begins running, causing me to stumble and try to match his pace—which isn't really working out.

His joyous laugh fills my ear as I continue to try and understand the odd balance of getting the contraption to somehow levitate and move in the air. "Yeah, Tails could never figure out how to do this either!"

Turning frustrated crimson eyes towards him, I inquire with a huff, "Then how did he ride with you?"

He gives a tilt to his head as the flying top manages to just avoid colliding with a spiked pillar. "He didn't."

I let confusion take over my mind for a moment before a near slip has me concentrating again. _This hedgehog's idea of fun is going to be the death of me._

~XxX~

After that _amusing_ ride on the spinning top, I came to realize just how unsafe this garden truly is. This place filled with soft, springy grass and healthy trees and bushes has so many spikes it makes me wonder just how paranoid the tribe on this island really was. Thinking back to that Echidna from earlier, the architecture of this place is starting to seem more believable.

With the sun beginning to set, casting the place in a dark orange tint, we reach an impasse. Looking to the musing hedgehog and then the giant plunge in front of us, I can only look to him for our next course of action at the moment.

"Hmm. I forgot about this. I had Tails airlift me to the next Zone. Look—you can see it from here, way out in the distance." He points out for me to see, and, taking another look, I can see in the dim environment lights that don't seem to be static.

Putting a hand over my face, I grit my teeth before turning to the still musing hedgehog. "Is that a _carnival?_ What the hell kind of place is this, Sonic? Who builds a carnival on a _floating_ island that only two people inhabit?"

Giving me an astonished look, he yields a forced chuckle before offering a response. "Well, I'd say most likely Eggman back when he crash-landed the Death Egg here, but I never really asked Knucklehead about it, so who knows? The real question is… how could you possibly see that? I mean, I know it's a carnival because I've actually been there before, but even from here I can almost barely see the lights."

 _Damn it! How could I forget about my enhanced senses? Maybe I should just tell him about being an experiment…_ Looking into his bright green orbs right now, I don't notice any negative feelings; he simply looks curious and intrigued. But will he feel that way once he realizes that I'm somehow related to the Doctor?

Deciding to give a sorry excuse, I turn to the now much brighter lights due to the twilight sky. "It was just a lucky guess."

I hear him sigh disappointedly and feel the same on the inside. The sudden nudge against my side causes me to look back at him to see him giving me a hopeful expression. "Hey, Shads… I think I've got a solution…"

His hesitance lets me know I won't like it. "Really? What is it?"

"Well, it's about Chaos Control and s—"

"No."

"But you haven't even let me—"

"No."

" _But—_ "

" _No._ " Finality rings in my tone as I stare him down firmly. He gives me a defiant look, but nothing he says will make me change my mind. "You are just beginning to learn how to wield Chaos Control with a sole Emerald, while I was practically created for this purpose."

"Created?" His ear flicks slightly in confusion.

"A slip of the tongue. What I mean is that I have much more experience with it than you do. I understand what you wanted to do, and I shall be the one to execute this plan. I don't know if performing this while on the Island will have any harmful results, which is why I'm the one doing this."

Understanding dawns in his eyes, as well as warmth and concern. "But, Shadow, you've never seen the place before. How can you—"

"I can see it from here. That should be enough for me to perform Chaos Control," I calmly explain.

He crosses his arms and purses his lips. "You could at least let me finish a sentence."

I chuckle and circle my arm around his waist, kissing his temple when he's close. "I apologize."

Feeling the warmth radiate from his face, I take out the emerald-colored Chaos Emerald from my quills and concentrate on the distant Zone, focusing my energy expertly, and immediately afterwards utter the familiar words, "Chaos Control."

Not even having to open my eyes due to the vividness of the place around us and surprisingly the upbeat music that plays, I know I succeeded in the warp.

"Hooray, Shadow! I know not to ever doubt you again…" I gaze into his eyes at the seriousness of his tone and feel the light press of his lips against mine. _I'm starting to think he's as addicted to this feeling as I am._

As I feel him pull back with a hum, the tug on my hand and the challenge in his tone sets my blood ablaze. "Come on, Shads! Let me show you a good time…"

I feel my mind slip into rather obscene places at this _._ _I'd let you do a lot more than that…_ It takes me a minute to realize what just paraded through my mind, which results in a loud curse of frustration reverberating in my skull. _Damn! When did my thoughts become so buried in the gutter? Maria would be appalled_. I let him lead me through the red-and-white-patterned roads, taking note of the near blinding flashing lights in every possible shape imaginable.

"We are going to have lots of fun, Shadow!" The coy look he gives me sends both pleasurable and unnerving chills down my spine. _I'm sure we will._

~XxX~

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be holding hands with another as we go in circles while simultaneously riding on a red-and-white barrel. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

"Turn that frown upside-down. You're supposed to be having fun with me! Not moping as we go on the rides at the carnival, Shads," Sonic informs me before tugging me off the spinning barrel.

"Well, I'm sorry if the dizzying designs of this place hold no amusement for me. Though I do find it… amazing to see like the previous Zones I've traveled through," I explain to him before taking the lead and running down and around the steep red-and-white cylinder, wondering what sane person would enjoy going through a place like this.

The yells and hollers going on behind me answer my question. Seeing more balloons up above and hearing Sonic pop them just for fun, I shake my head before going on ahead.

~XxoOoxX~

Looking at the nearly complete machine in front of him, the evil genius wipes the grease off of his hands on a nearby towel meant just for such purposes before standing to admire his work. "This is coming out splendidly. Hehe, just wait until I get those hedgehogs here. They won't know what hit them."

The thought of those hedgehogs seems to remind him of something. Looking towards a clock modeled after his face with the digital numbers showing in the teeth, he realizes just how much time has passed.

"I think it's time to check up on those two and, more importantly, implement the next part of my plan."

Walking back into the room with his large monitor, he switches onto the feed from his microscopic cameras that follow Sonic and inadvertently Shadow nearly wherever he goes; he then sees the two in Carnival Night Zone.

A frown mars his face at this development, and he considers. "Well, I believe my robots can still make it to them in record time, and with their special features I'm sure they'll give even the Ultimate Lifeform a run for his money."

Pressing a certain silver button on the dashboard in front of him, an army of fifteen sleek silver robots appear in the room, ready for orders.

Turning to them and clasping his hands behind his back, he begins to speak in a no-nonsense tone. "Eggtrons, I have called upon you to fulfill one duty: Gather the Emeralds from Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog by any means necessary. I want you to leave them alive, of course, but anything else goes. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Doctor," the monotone mechanical voices of the machines all agree at once.

"Good, good. Now go and don't come back until you've succeeded."

The robots disappear from the room quite suddenly, and he turns back to his computer. "Yes, now let's see what that fox boy is up to. Still searching the web for the prophecy?" He lets out a bellowing laugh at the idea only to nearly choke at the sight before him.

"C-Cosmo? What is she doing here? I thought she died as a sacrifice…?" Intrigued by this development, Dr. Eggman takes a seat and begins to tap away on the keys to his computer.

"This deserves some looking into…"

~XxoOoxX~

The moment the lights went off, I knew something was up. "Knuckles…? That you, buddy? If you're messing around again, I won't take it easy on you this time," I warn, even though I have a gut feeling it's not him.

Taking cautious steps forward to where I last saw Shadow, my right ear twitches at the faintest sound, alerting me to a presence.

Feeling very much wary, I ask in a weak voice, "Shadow, is that you?"

Something moves fast towards me, and I dodge out of the way, looking in its direction to see what it was. I don't expect an attack from behind.

I skid painfully across the floor before doing a front handspring to land back on my feet. Without even being able to see, I can tell I'm surrounded, and from the hit I took, it's by robots. Eggman's made his move.

The sound of battle occurring not too far off rings in my ears, and I know Shadow's is in the same predicament as I am. I bare my teeth and try to use sound to aid me in my attack, nailing one with a kick and using it as leverage when I jump in another's general direction.

Before I can make contact, though, the masses around me seem to disappear. _What is happening here?_ Deciding to use this as my chance to get to Shadow, I sprint in his direction only to feel a metal fist slam into my spine, knocking the wind out of me. Before I can even hit the ground, a kick connects with my muzzle, forcing me to close my eyes in agony, the taste of blood beginning to fill my mouth.

I crumple to the ground for a moment, but not too long, knowing these machines are ruthless and fast. I attempt to use my speed to overwhelm them, causing a lot of wind to pick up in the area. "You guys are pretty good, but even you can't keep up with me!"

Feeling smug about the situation, it takes me a second to realize that they are in fact keeping up with me through… "Teleportation."

I can barely see it, but it's as if they're vanishing then reappearing right where I'm going to be a second later. For the first time I feel a bit of fear well up inside me. I try to swallow it down and use their patterns against them. Knowing one of them is about to appear in front of me, I roll into deadly quills and Spin Dash into it, hearing metal tear and sparks sound.

It's not completely destroyed, but I know it can't function properly enough to attack me again. _One down… I don't know how many more to go._

I do this two more times, almost laughing at their static programming before they make me realize they were just studying _my_ pattern. In seconds metallic arms wrap around me, holding my arms in place, and the three remaining robots, I now realize, appear in front of me.

Trying to break out of the robot's hold, I feel no give and growl fiercely, "What do you want, huh? Are you gonna finish me off, or are you just going to capture me?"

My answer is a punch in the stomach that has me nearly coughing up a lung. With my head held low I can still hear the distant clamber of machines versus Mobian, so I know Shadow is still putting up a fight, which at least means he's doing all right for now.

"We do not answer to you, Sonic the Hedgehog," one of them, the one holding me, finally answers.

I lift my head and answer smartly, "Yeah. You just follow orders blindly like mindless—"

Pained cries escape me as the solid fists of the machines begin to lay into me wherever they can reach, not letting up until the skin under my fur is bruised and bleeding in some places. _D-damn. I haven't taken a beating this hard since Eggman gathered all the Emeralds back on—_ My eyes widen as I recall the memory then shut due to the pain it causes.

 _I can be so forgetful sometimes. I'll just use the Emeralds for a burst of energy, and these robots will be scrap metal._ I close my eyes in concentration…

My pupils shrink to the size of pin tips as every single nerve ending in my body begins to vibrate excruciatingly. My muscles lock up and jerk spasmodically, hardly allowing the screams I want to emit to come out. I know what's happening because I've experienced this type of agony a few times before, just not to this extreme.

 _I'm being electrocuted._

My heart is jumping so fast I think it misses a few beats, and I know if they continue this way for much longer, I'm going to die. I twitch and writhe in the robot's hold, control over myself completely gone as the burning electricity dominates my senses. I can smell my fur beginning to burn at the continued torture and all I want is for it to end. _Please just end!_ Just when I don't think I can take this anymore, my heart having had enough, everything stops, and I hear the distant sound of Shadow shouting my name before I fade into unconsciousness.

* * *

Such action going on! It was about time to bring Cosmo back into the picture. Her character... I feel like I didn't do it justice, but I really try with this story.

As for the 'Eggtrons' you can totally see I had no clue what to call them XD But yeah, any thoughts?

Also a **Guest** reviewer brought up an interesting question. 'How big are the Marks? And what are Rouge and Knuckle's Marks?' Well to give a general idea, they're about the size of the center of one's palm, so they're really unobtrusive. I actually don't think I mention Rouge and Knuckle's Marks in this story, but Rouge's is of a green gem (*cough*Master Emerald *cough*) and located on the back of her right hand. Knuckles has violet bat wings on his left bicep. Thanks for the question! I'm always happy to clear things up if their a problem.


	9. Concealing Truths

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~9~**

 **-Concealing Truths-**

 _Damn, where did these robots come from?_ I was a bit unnerved when the whirring of the electricity slowly went down then stopped altogether, leaving this place in darkness. The training I was forced to go through immediately kicks in, and everything comes into clear relief despite the darkness.

It's after I take a defensive stance, when eight silver robots appear in a circle around me, that I remember I left Sonic unattended to. Logic tells me that he can take care of himself, but my instincts _demand_ that I find him right now. This whole situation stinks, and I just know something will go wrong.

Having been put through this type of situation time and time again aboard my ARK training sessions, I don't even waste time and enhance my already impressive strength with the help of the Emeralds. Looking at the nearest bot near me, I thrust my fist into its face, giving a sadistic grin at the sight of its visage utterly shattering into bolts, wires, and electric sparks.

Continuing the motion from my previous punch, I use my foot to cut through the torso of another, getting back into a defensive position as one of them speaks. "Give it up, Shadow the Hedgehog. You will not succeed."

"Really? Well, I beg to differ."

They converge upon me.

While they do land a few good hits, I've experienced far worse, so I deflect and land damaging blows to the cold metal surrounding me.

Then my ears pick up a sound that causes fear to course through my veins and red to haze my vision.

 _Sonic. They're hurting him._

The Chaos energy inside me churns and builds in fury, pulling a growl from my throat as I punch, kick, and _rip_ the machines around me to their demise, immediately taking off towards the sound of my Chaos Bound's distressed cries.

Seeing him convulsing violently in the arms of those machines, covered in bruises and bleeding, I vaguely hear myself cry his name before everything around him lies in dismantled scraps at my hands.

I pick him up gently, oh-so slowly, trying to control the trembling in my arms. _H-his eyes aren't open. Why hasn't he awakened?_ Trying to quell the panic that rises inside of me, I lower my ear to his fawn-colored chest and exhale, relieved at the sound of his heart and breathing, although both are slow and labored.

I gather him close and place my head upon his with my eyes shut, as if in prayer. _How could I have let this happen to you? I'm supposed to keep you safe…_ Curling around him protectively, I try to use the power of the Emeralds to heal his wounds.

They hear my wish and begin to obey, taking the energy I offer to help aid in their work. Green light surrounds my Bound, and when I look at his fur, matted and bloodied in some places, I notice the wounds beginning to mend.

It takes a minute, but his fur is vibrant again, and his breathing becomes easier and more peaceful. Feeling calmed, I gaze down into Sonic's face, expecting to see his bright green eyes open.

Thankfully, he doesn't keep me waiting, and as soon as they fully open they lock onto mine.

"H-hey, Shads…" The tired quality to his voice makes me pull him closer, and ever so slowly I seal our lips together. He gasps softly, and I decide to try something I've seen done before by many couples in films.

Hesitantly bringing my tongue forth, I slowly trail it along the smooth expanse of his lips, feeling him shiver and moan. I swallow a groan and connect our lips more securely, plunging my tongue into his mouth, tasting his vanilla wet warmth. It's a bit sloppy, as I've never done this before, but feeling him yield to the kiss is enough to make me want to push him to the ground and—

"S-Shads… can't breathe," he informs me through pants after breaking the kiss to get air.

I breathe in deeply, gripping the ground—well, some scrap metal—with enough force to crush it as I reign in my desires. "Yeah. Sorry. I was just worried when you wouldn't wake up, and you were bruised and bleeding, and they had _electrocuted_ you. I don't know what I would've done if—"

He sits up slowly in my lap and places a gentle hand over my mouth. "Shadow, it's okay. I'm fine, thanks to you. It was mostly my fault anyway. I forgot I had the Emeralds on me until the last minute, and by then they were shooting bolts through me."

He tries to play it off as "no big," but nothing will ever erase the image of him jerking violently or his strangled screams as they tortured him. The same way I'll never forget Maria…

I feel his hand grasp my chin and turn it back to face his firm expression. "Don't go blaming yourself, understand?"

I nod noncommittally and stand, placing him on his feet next to me.

He looks down at himself and stretches in amazement and curiosity. "Whoa, no pain. What'd you…? The Chaos Emeralds, right?" he figures out on his own.

I nod with a cross to my arms. The embrace I receive from the side startles me from its intensity, and I look to see Sonic's face obscured in the depths of my obsidian fur. "Aww, Shads! You're so good to me!"

I hate to admit it, but I blush at those words.

Feeling him tug me forward, I follow behind him, like I know I'd be willing to do every day for the rest of our lives.

"Come on, Shads! Let's go!"

~XxoOoxX~

A warning alarm sounds on the console, forcing the Doctor to halt in his research. He gives a disgruntled hum and clicks on a few buttons to figure out what the problem is.

The monitor displays a message: Eggtrons sent on deploy are reading a status of TERMINATED.

The evil scientist's gloved fist slams on the dashboard. " _What_? How could this be?!" Quickly bringing up the last footage of his robots' memories, he watches the recording with growing realization. "Hmm. Seems I've underestimated the Ultimate Lifeform and his role towards that pesky blue hedgehog. Maybe I can use this to my advantage…."

Hastily getting up to work on his machines again, he leaves his research on Cosmo to another time.

~XxoOoxX~

The cold artic air courses through my fur as I sail through the sky after being launched from the black cannon in Carnival Night. Ice Cap Zone looks dazzling at night with the moon's light reflecting off the many ice crystals that decorate the place. The snow is lush and white so high up on the mountains of Angel Island, making me wonder if I could talk Shadow into making snow angels with me…

Seeing my trajectory heading towards the snow-covered ground at high speeds, I almost imagine the board of wood I used the first time I slid down these snow banks sticking out of the ground ready to break my landing. Unfortunately, I'm not so lucky this second time around.

I land messily on my feet and face-plant in the freezing snow, beginning to slide down the mountain due to gravity and momentum. The distant shout I hear warns me of ensuing mayhem.

"Watch out!"

It's only a second's warning, and I try to scramble up to my feet on the slippery snow, but the heavy colliding of his body makes us crash back into the ground and tumble our way down in a tangle of limbs and, surprisingly, laughter. I know how this is going to end, and when the ground suddenly disappears from beneath us, I give a resounding " _Whoopee!"_ as we land in the entrance to the ice caves, settling on the pile of snow created from the first avalanche.

Still chuckling, I realize the snow wasn't the only thing that broke my landing. I sit up and move to the side, allowing Shadow to pull his face from the snow and give me a wry look. "Well, that was amusing."

I chuckle and nudge him affectionately. "Admit it—you had fun. I heard you laughing earlier."

He crosses his arms in denial. "Yeah, nearly suffocating in snow is really _fun_." But the smirk he gives me lets me know he's just teasing.

Before I can joke back, a beeping from my wrist brings me up short. I look down with confusion and then remember. _The Wrist Com. I totally forgot I had it._ With a sheepish smile I press the button and see an image of my little bro on the tiny monitor.

"Hey, Sonic! How's everything going?" Tails asks as soon as the connection's made. I can't quite place it, but something is different about the tone to his voice.

"Everything's going fine, bro! Although, there was a close call… but Shads here came through for me," I say with pride and fondness lacing my words in the end.

"Your Chaos Bound, right?" he asks just to be sure. I did only say Shadow's name once to him, and now I'm referring to him by nickname. Tails is used to it by now.

"Yep." I internally shiver due to the low temperatures and wet snow I'm still resting in before turning my focus back on Tails.

"So you did manage to work things out. I'm happy for you!" He genuinely sounds pleased, and I love him all the more for it.

"Yeah, me too… Hey! Do you want to talk to him? He's—" I look up, expecting to see an obsidian red-streaked hedgehog next to me with an indifferent expression on his face, only to spot him standing deeper in the cave, away from me.

 _I'm sensing some emotionally scarring backstory from this situation… Why else wouldn't he want to talk to my bro or even tell me about his past?_ I look back at Tails to see he's confused at my abrupt stop in speech and hastily try to explain. "Umm, Shadow's busy right now. How's everything going with you? Anything new come up?"

Expecting to hear that he somehow figured out the mysterious prophecy, I'm astonished to make out the voice of a friend who was nearly lost. "Would I count, Sonic?" she asks in an amused voice.

 _So that's why his voice sounded so full of life—Cosmo's back!_ I can barely keep the smile off my face. "Welcome back, Cosmo! It's good to see you again!"

Her face is now smiling brightly at me on the screen, and I'm again amazed to see that she appears to have the same look as the one she took before taking on the form of a tree. "It's good to see you as well, Sonic! Tails has told me everything that's going on, and I've offered to help in any way that I can."

I smile at that, remembering how determined she was to do the right thing no matter how hard it might be. "I've really missed having you around, Cosmo."

"I've missed you guys as well."

I see Tails' face appear beside hers but with a noticeably smaller smile on his muzzle.

"I did find something out, Sonic. It's only a theory, though, but I think it might have something to do with what Eggman has planned." His tone is serious, and I adopt the same attitude.

"Yeah, well, let's hear it." I clench my teeth a little to prevent a chatter from displaying my lack of warmth.

"You and Shadow are most likely pure Chaos energy beings, you being positive and he negative. If your powers were to combine and become active, the results could be cataclysmic, but if a certain third power was added to the mix, everything would become balanced out."

I rub my head quills in wonder. "Well, that could be serious."

The two nod their heads. "I know, but I'm still looking into things. I'll let you know if I find anything else, okay? Good luck with the Emerald!"

I smile and nod. "Thanks, buddy! See ya guys when we get back!" The connection ends, and I hop off the snow mound, shivering slightly from the wet snow that melted into my fur. _Chaos, I forgot how cold this place actually was._

Seeing Shadow still standing where I last saw him like a sentry on duty, I make my way towards him, noticing his obvious lack of wet fur. Pouting due to his luck, I decide to demand some answers instead of complaining about the cold. Besides, there's this neat trick Tails and I used to stay warm here, so I won't have to worry about it for long anyway. "Why'd you leave back there, Shads? I wanted you to talk to my brother."

The reprimanding quality to my voice seems to pull a wince out of him, but he doesn't respond. I place my hand on my hip, ignoring the shiver that racks my form for a moment, and demand, "Look, you said you would tell me about your past later. Well, I'm declaring it later. Enlighten me."

I see his vivid red eyes glance in my direction for a second before he begins to walk ahead in the ice caverns. "I can sense the Chaos energy coming from here. I'll take the lead."

 _For the love of Chaos! What does a guy have to do to get a straight answer out of you!?_ I ground my teeth and wrap my hands around my body, trying to conceal warmth, looking in Shadow's direction every so often and seeing no such signs of discomfort from him.

I try to take my mind off of things by looking at the endless waves of small crystals that seem to glow purple and blue continuously. _This place is so cool._ The word seems to bring up another round of shivers, and I turn my eyes back in front of me in sudden confusion.

Looking around then looking around again a bit more frantically, I finally realize what's missing. _The Rings! Where are the Rings? They were in every Zone we've been through before, so why aren't they here?_ It usually doesn't take Rings too long to respawn, so the fact that I don't see a single golden one around is a bit disconcerting.

 _I need those… Tails and I used the small bit of energy to keep us warm when traveling through this place._ My mind tries to come up with another solution, and I recall the Emeralds in my quills. _Maybe I can use those! But I'm not really sure how, and that might use up all their energy._

Biting my lip, I consider going to Shadow, but I notice his tense stance, and his fists seems to clench and unclench in frustration. _I better not. He still seems pretty bothered. He said he could sense the Emerald. Who knows? It might not even take that long._

I trudge on in silence behind him, uncontrollable shivers still shaking my form.

~XxX~

I can no longer feel my toes or the tips of my fingers. Every cold breezy is like a slash across my skin, but I keep walking along like a good little hedgehog. _How long has it been? Hours, days, years?_ The shiny crystals and sparkling snow all seem to mesmerize me and close in on me all at once. I notice sparkly icicles grouped together jutting out from a wall not too far from me. _I wonder if they feel like my quills, all prickly and stuff…_ A violent shiver quakes my form before I walk slowly towards it and stick my stiff hand out.

"What exactly are you doing, hedgehog?" The deep sound of his voice startles me, and I turn to see him looking at me with a strange expression.

 _Oh, Chaos, I need to answer quickly before one of those bad shivers comes and he sees. Don't want him to worry 'bout me._ "Uhh, nothin'. Juust reliving olld memoriess." _Chaos, did that sound as slurred out loud as it did in my head?_

His ear twitches, and he looks at me closely before responding. "Are you all right, Sonic? You seem a bit…"

His step towards me causes me to stumble back in response, but I catch myself in time. "'m fine, Shadz. Jusst keep movin'."

He looks unsure before nodding slowly and walking forward again, causing me to sigh in relief then aggressively shiver. _Need to be more careful._ I nod to myself and try to make the crystals stop winking at me.

~XxoOoxX~

I feel heavy with guilt for being so short with Sonic earlier. I just couldn't bear to look him in the eye and tell him what I am, what I've experienced… what I've done. It's probably the reason why he doesn't want to be close to me right now. _Damn it, Shadow. Stop being so stubborn and apologize to him._ I can practically hear Maria agree, although she abhors my use of language.

I sigh and brace myself for his reaction as I begin to speak, turning around as I do so. "Look, Sonic, I apologize for being so curt and distant—"

Pale skin the color of frozen ice and eyes that are completely dazed are images that burn vividly into my memory. I hold his gaze for a split second before he loses consciousness, and I race to catch his falling figure. My heart is racing faster than should be physically possible as the wet, ice-cold texture of his fur makes contact with my body. _Oh, god, he has hypothermia. What the_ fuck _was I thinking? He's not some damn creation that can survive at sub-arctic temperatures! He fell in the snow and continued to walk around in these freezing conditions without a word. How could I not notice?_

The earlier signs were there: dazed confusion, slurred speech, and probably shivering that he wouldn't let me see—the true reason as to why he didn't want to walk next to me. I internally rage at myself but gather his form close to mine in the hopes of transferring body heat.

As I stand up, my mind races with possible quick solutions. I _need_ to get him out of here and to some place warm immediately or he'll just get worse. Looking down into his pale face, I feel sickness rise in me. _I let this happen to him. I let him get hurt again over senseless stubbornness. I failed him again…_

Flattening my ears in shame, I think of possibly Chaos Controlling back to the tropics of this island but realize that I used up most of the energy from the Emeralds to heal Sonic the first time. If I attempt to use them now when their energy hasn't restored, it most likely won't work and be a complete waste of time and effort.

I absentmindedly rub Sonic's fur and come up with the only other possible solution: retrieve the Emerald from this Zone. The idea troubles me, because Sonic will have to be exposed to the cold for longer, but it's the only idea I can come up with for now.

I hold him as close as possible and murmur in his ear, "It's okay. It's okay. Stay with me. I'm going to fix this. Make it right. I'm so sorry for putting you through this…" My voice wavers, but I push the emotion down, only letting determination and concern for my hedgehog rule me for now.

The Emerald isn't too far off, I can tell, but I can't glimpse any foreseeable places it could possibly be. I growl in frustration and rub Sonic more. I don't want to wander around for too long, but all I see before me is a steep drop down and a wall of snow.

I can sense that the Emerald may be just beyond the snow, but it just doesn't seem possible. Feeling Sonic shiver in my arms—which is a good sign because I haven't felt him so much as twitch since he collapsed—I decide to take a chance and hope I don't just ram into it and fall to our deaths.

I kiss the cold fur of his forehead before taking the leap of faith. Expecting some kind of impact, I'm surprised to feel us practically faze through the snow like it wasn't even there, the sensation almost surreal. This room is much notably warmer and decorated with diamond-shaped crystals all over the walls. The Emerald floats, pulsating a neon white, in the very center as if rewarding me for my risk-taking.

More shivers rack the hedgehog in my arms, and I hear him mumble my name almost unintelligibly. I hush him softly and grab the white Emerald in my palm quickly. I concentrate on the warmth of the jungle from before and the want for Sonic to get better.

Faster than one can blink, I appear before the Master Emerald with the Echidna and Rouge appearing to be in a very compromising position. Not particularly caring about their personal life, I speak in a very demanding and imposing manner. "I need to get him warm. _Now._ "

The two look up, startled, before Knuckles jumps up like the self-appointed hothead I dubbed him to be and begins spewing things that aren't important to the situation right now. "What did you do to him!?"

Rouge stands up and places her hand on his shoulder before walking quickly towards me. "That's not what's crucial right now, Knuckles. Come with me, Shadow."

I follow the voice of reason, holding on tight to the person in my arms. My ear twitches at the faintest sound of Sonic attempting to speak. "'s coold." I look down, feeling the shivers course through him, to see his face scrunched up in discomfort. He doesn't seem to be fully conscious.

"Shadow, come right through here. I had Knucklehead build this place for me, even though he hardly sleeps inside. I still wanted to have a lavish house." Her tone of voice tries to be light and playful, but I can hear the worry and concern in the lilts as if we've been friends for years.

I follow her into the two story house with hardly any awareness to my surroundings. Nothing captures my attention accept the hedgehog I'm carrying, and Rouge seems to understand. She points me to a room, and I immediately lay his pale blue form under the lavender covers, making sure to take off his wet gloves, shoes, and socks. While I'm doing the same, Rouge walks in with an armful of white fluffy towels.

"Here. I warmed these up. Just rub these on him and try to warm him up as much as possible."

I nod and take the towels, but she makes sure we make eye contact before she lets go. "He's going to be okay, Shadow." I try to let her confidence combat the fear that's welled up inside me, but looking at him so quiet and in pain, so unlike himself, makes it hard to believe.

She moves to the large window lined in dark purple drapes in order to open it, which allows for a dry, warm breeze to flow through the room. Immediately after she leaves us alone, and I get to work rubbing the towels all along his fur to dry and warm him. He moans and mumbles my name weakly, then shivers and tries to curl in on himself. In time I deem him dry enough, tossing the now damp towels on the dark wood floors, and climb into the full sized bed, deciding to lie on top of him at an angle so that I don't completely crush him but can keep him warm and wrapped-up more proficiently.

He shivers under me, mumbling incoherently a bit before settling down. I rub his soft fawn-colored arms slowly to create friction and just start talking, wanting to give him what he wants. If he wants to know of my past, then I'll tell him everything.

"I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform. I'm a scientific experiment created aboard a space colony named ARK fifty years ago by Professor Gerald Robotnik. Strange isn't it? No, I'm not fifty years old or anything. I was just sealed in a cryogenic chamber for fifty years, actually. I'm technically only a few years old; I just grew and matured at a fast rate due to being created with a fake Chaos Emerald. The last time the Professor checked he said I was perhaps wonders of being an experiment."

I pause as he gives a soft shiver and snuggles closer to my warmth. "Life aboard the ARK was no walk in the park. Professor Gerald created me to cure all diseases, specifically so that I could help cure the disorder his granddaughter, Maria, had. But, of course, being the Ultimate Lifeform, the military saw the benefit of using me for more _combative_ purposes. I was then forced into training as well as constant experiments.

"Maria was the only thing that made life fun and always gave me something to look forward to. We got into all kinds of trouble playing aboard the ARK. We always got scolded, but our time together was always worth it. She was a little sister to me, and I loved her dearly." I hold my mate closer at the burning pain that begins to consume me when remembering her sweet smiling face.

"After the training, I was no longer the innocent, curious hedgehog she and the Professor knew. Violence and pain became almost wired into my coding. I learned how to fire every type of firearm imaginable, how to fight ruthlessly in hand-to-hand combat, and, most importantly, how to kill. I tried to keep my new knowledge away from Maria, not wishing for her purity to be tainted by my existence.

"Then they realized just how powerful I really was and began to fear me, the very thing that _they_ created. It was decided that the ARK would be shut down, and anyone who resisted would be eliminated immediately." I bury my face into his quills as the memory of that day flashes before my eyes. "I tried so hard, Sonic, to protect her, but she was determined to see me live. Even in death she wished for me to help people, to give them a chance to be happy. She was only fourteen, but she was the noblest person I knew…"

I sniff and feel a tear slide down my cheek slowly; I decide to finally allow myself to rest, for once feeling too emotionally exhausted to remain conscious.

* * *

I sure have been putting Sonic through the wringer in this. I hope that was a decent representation of hypothermia ^^'

Thanks so much for the support guys 3 It means a lot!


	10. A Step In The Right Direction

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~10~**

 **-A Step In The Right Direction-**

The kit stares warily at the screen in front of him, having been researching for hours already. He reaches up to rub at his eyes, clearly soar from having stared at his monitor for so long. Besides what he figured out already, he hasn't yet come up with any new information.

The sound of soft footfalls alerts him to Cosmo's presence, but he doesn't look up. She rests a hand on his shoulder softly and puts a warm cup of hot cocoa in front of his face to make him look away from the screen.

He looks up with a grateful smile and takes a sip, the gooey, sugary sweetness of the liquid chocolate pleasuring his senses.

"I thought you could use some sugar in your system after missing lunch. Although, this isn't really a good substitute, and I'd still advise for you to go and eat _real_ food, please." Her scolding is light and caring, making the fox feel guilty for having not listened to her earlier.

"Okay, Cosmo… it's just that this prophecy could be really dangerous, and I just want us to be prepared for what he has planned," Tails explains while standing from his chair.

"I understand, but that is no reason for not taking care of yourself."

He gives her a sheepish smile while leading them up the stairs to the first floor. Almost immediately, his sensitive sense of smell picks up the scent of something… burning? Feeling suddenly alarmed, he bursts into the kitchen dramatically, anticipating the sight of flames spewing everywhere, only to see a dish of chili dogs with cheese—or more specifically, _burnt_ chili dogs with cheese.

The look on his face is positively comical; Cosmo, on the other hand, just smiles in delight. "Oh, good, what do you think, Tails? I made it special for you!"

Said fox stutters in reply and tries desperately to resist Cosmo pushing him to his seat, but in the end girls always get what they want.

With the meal squarely in front of him, he has no choice but to eat it. Picking it up gingerly as if it's a bomb ready to explode, he lifts it sluggishly to his mouth. _Oh, Chaos… I really hope Sonic is having a better time than I am._

~XxoOoxX~

I groan exhaustedly, feeling very warm compared to how I felt the last time I was awake. I can hear the words _experiment_ , _ARK_ , _Maria_ , and _Professor_ _Gerald_ _Robotnik_ swirl in my mind in a jumbled mess, not making any sense whatsoever.

Peeling open my eyelids slowly, I see the room bathed in darkness and barely make out the wary expression the obsidian hedgehog next to me wears, even in sleep, and the words come into context. I completely understand now why Shadow didn't want to tell me anything. He thought I would see him differently. Well, I do. Just not the way he thinks.

I reach up and gently caress his face as I look at him lovingly. "Oh, Shads, you should have more faith in me. I don't care if you're an experiment, an alien, or some monster! I'd still feel the same way that I do now. I'd still love you…" my cheeks warm at those words.

It's true. The hedgehog I see before me holds my heart securely in his hands and has since the day we met at the shopping district. I exhale softly and nestle closer to him, enjoying his heavy warmth on top of me.

I feel him beginning to stir and wait eagerly to see his crimson eyes open. Black eyelids edged in crimson slowly rise, revealing cloudy red orbs. He looks at me with confusion, and I feel his muscles tense slowly. Feeling a little cautious, I speak his name gently, "Shadow?"

The sound of my voice is like the key to bringing back his awareness. He blinks a few times in wonder, staring at me in disbelief. "S-Sonic? You're really okay?"

I give a lighthearted chuckle and hold his face in my hands when I answer. "Of course I am, Shads. Why wouldn't I be? You're with me…" _Chaos, he makes me say the sappiest things,_ I can't help but realize with a hint of embarrassment.

His eyes look pained as he gazes at me. "No, I'm the reason you're here."

I roll my eyes and speak seriously. "Shadow. We've been over this before. I'm not blaming you. End of story."

He growls angrily and snaps in my direction, his voice becoming rough in frustration, "No! Not 'end of story.' You need to take this seriously. You need to understand just how dangerous I am. The people I love end up dead. Look at the Professor. Look at… Maria. I'm just a cold-hearted experiment. I don't deserve you."

My ears fold in irritation at his irate behavior. "I heard everything you said before, Shadow. I know what happened, and it doesn't change anything. I—" I inhale softly before deciding to take the plunge. "I still love you."

His furry black ears perk in surprise, and he repeats, astonished, "You love me?"

I nod with a coy smile. "Uh-huh. You love me too, right?" I ask innocently, already knowing his answer from his words previous.

His hands reach up to grasp my face tenderly as if I'd break if he handled me too roughly. I watch as his face is overcome with indescribable emotion, the love and adoration shining in his crimson eyes so strong it's hard to imagine how much restraint he must have to keep from showing it all along. I can hardly breathe when he speaks next, so overcome with elation at his declaration. "Sonic, I… god, I absolutely _adore_ you. I fall in love with you more and more with each passing moment."

His right thumb caresses my cheek tenderly as he stares at me intensely. "We may be bound by Chaos, but if I didn't wish to be with you I wouldn't," he admits seriously as he trails his thumb from my cheek to my chin and then to my lips where it brushes gently, the black fur causing ardent tingles to force their way up my spine as I inhale sharply. "There's just something about you that makes me want to cradle you, _possess_ you… love you. I'd do anything to make sure that smile of yours stays," he trails off as he removes his hand so that his cheek can brush against mine ever so slowly.

My heart pounds loudly in my chest as I inhale shakily and curl my arms around his neck. _Chaos he's madly in love with me._ My lips curve softly as I nuzzle happily against him in return. _I know for a fact that I feel the same way. I'd never let him go._

 _Never._

Eager to feel his lips against mine as my nerves light on fire in bliss, I pull back from our cuddling and stare into his blood red orbs shinning bright where the moon's rays from the window reflect tastefully. "I'm nowhere near as elegant with words as you are Shads, just know that my heart will only ever feel at peace with you. I trust you no matter what, Shadow, and I know the feeling is mutual. If you really feel bad about what happened to me… you can just kiss me and make it better…?"

His eyes tell me his answer before his body does, so I'm readily prepared for the lips that claim mine. He tastes so divine, like the freshest cup of coffee and the sweetest spice. I feel my eyes flutter under their blue lids as his weight pushes me further into the bed and his tongue messily wraps around mine. Heart quivering in my chest, I try my best not to fall apart at the seams at the overwhelming sensation.

" _Mmm…"_ Having his weight already on top of me, I give into the odd urge from before and drape my legs over his waist, giving a stuttering gasp at how sensitive I'm beginning to feel down there…

Just as his lips begin to pepper kisses across my cheek and towards my neck, a rude interruption cuts in. "Now, boys, this isn't what I offered this guest room for, ya know?"

I sigh disappointedly, knowing Shadow is about to pull his whole distant move, but I'm surprised to feel his lips press against my neck gently before his eyes meet mine. My smile is admittedly dreamy, but I'm happy we're finally getting much closer.

"What, no greeting? And I came all this way just to see if you were okay. Men can be so rude."

I chuckle softly at Rouge's antics and finally turn my eyes in her direction.

"Hey, Rouge! I'm doing fine. That is the _last_ time I go to Ice Cap unprepared. It's weird, though. There were no Rings around. That's why I wasn't able to get warm enough to make it through," I explain while unconsciously moving closer to rest against Shadow after remembering how freezing it was.

Rouge looks as confused as Shadow, but he responds first. "Rings? How would they have helped?"

I grin, remembering his earlier curiosity about the special objects. "Remember when I said they had other uses besides currency? Well, when you collect a Ring, there's an initial small burst of energy they give upon contact. Tails and I used to use that energy for warmth, making that Zone seem cool rather than the freezing tundra that it actually is. I just don't understand why there wasn't a single one there."

I can see the fascination in Shadow's eyes as he tries to figure out the inner workings of those golden Rings, but there's also suspicion.

Rouge places a hand on her chin at this conundrum, but I can tell she has no answers. I begin to sit up, reluctantly feeling Shadow moving as I do. I turn to Rouge with a sheepish smile. "I guess we should get going. Thanks for letting us use the place."

She waves me off before I can even finish speaking my thanks. "Don't mention it. It was nice to have friends stay for a change—even if the circumstances were less than ideal."

We chuckle, as if in on an inside joke, so used to being in fights and having plenty of close calls—this is nothing new. Shadow's deep voice cuts through our laughter.

"Thank you, Rouge."

I can tell by his tone of voice that there is a deeper meaning there, so I just reach down and gather the clothes that I now realize I'm missing.

"No problem. You guys are going to have to come to the altar before you go, though. You know how that Knucklehead is. Been pestering me all day about leaving you with Shadow." She crosses her arms and begins to saunter out of the room.

"Okay! We'll be there!" I yell out to her before she's out of earshot. Shadow sits beside me and reaches down to put on his notably heavier shoes. One thing I did seem to observe about him is that those rings he has around his wrists and ankles weren't taken off.

He seems to spot my staring, which causes me to blush and look away. His chuckle is deep as he pulls me up and begins to lead me out to the extravagant house. "It's fine. I'll explain briefly along the way. They're my Inhibitor Rings. They just keep the Chaos energy inside me under control so that I don't run through it too quickly and collapse from extreme fatigue."

I nod and weave our fingers together as we walk to the relatively close altar under the cover of night. The Master Emerald's glow is luminescent and awe-inspiring, the crumbled stones and pillars around it adding to the mystical look.

Knuckles is standing in front of the Emerald with his arms crossed and a vein throbbing on his forehead. _Does this guy ever take a break?_ The moment we're in front of him, his amethyst eyes snap open in a glare.

"I see you're all fine and dandy. Wanna give me an explanation as to what happened up there?" He arches an eyebrow impatiently.

I can see his eyes glaring daggers at Shadow accusingly, and I make haste to rectify the situation. "Look, I thought I could handle Ice Cap, but circumstances dictated otherwise. If it weren't for Shadow here, I would've been an icicle by now."

Knuckles doesn't look convinced but moves on to his next accusation. "Okay, well, what about that weird presence I felt on the island before? I was halfway through Marble Garden Zone before it disappeared. Got any clever explanations for that?"

 _You want to play hardball, Knux? I can play all day long…_ "Eggman sent robots up here to attack Shads and me. I don't know what his specific motive besides the obvious was, but I got beat up pretty badly. _Again,_ if it wasn't for Shadow, I would have ended up a fried 'hog."

Shock shows in his amethyst eyes, and for a moment I can see him beginning to grudgingly reconsider his view on my Chaos Bound. "Hmm. I don't know. Something still feels off about him…"

Shadow decides to speak up instead of gaze at the sparkling Emerald before us, having completely been ignoring the Echidna's attempts to demean him. "That is because I am a creation, manmade, if you will. I do not wish to go into the finer details with you. Sonic can, if he feels the need to…" he trails off as if completely bored with the conversation.

I chuckle openly at his actions, seeing Knuckles ready to spit fire in Shadow's direction. Fortunately, Shadow doesn't seem to give a damn and interrupts quite plainly. "Well, if that's all, we must be going. The Doctor has a prophecy he seems hell-bent on fulfilling, and I'm— _we're_ —determined to stop him. Distractions are a great deterrent—you should know."

I expect Knuckles to get even more furious, but the sight of his face going pale is highly unsettling. "D-did you say 'prophecy'?"

Shadow senses the change as well and answers slowly. "…yes."

"This… this isn't good. The Master Emerald warned me of something like this. From what I understood, if Eggman were to gather all three Powers, great loss would follow. I hadn't known what it meant, but clearly you guys know more about this than I do. _Do not_ let him succeed. The Master Emerald is always right about these things."

When it comes to the Master, Knuckles is always serious, and hearing him say this truly makes this whole thing a lot grimmer. I nod once and give him a thumbs-up. "We've got it covered, Knux. Besides, when has Eggman ever won against us?"

He doesn't appreciate my attempt at trying to lighten the mood, but he takes my word for it. I turn to Shadow and see that he's very much concerned, but the emotion is well-hidden in his eyes. When we make eye contact, I give him a reassuring smile before nudging him slightly, indicating our time to leave.

"It's been nice, but we've gotta juice! See ya around, Knuckles!" The arm of my mate wraps around my waist, and words that are starting to become familiar float through the air.

"Chaos Control!"

In the blink of an eye, we're gone.

~XxX~

I expect to see Shadow's log cabin around us, but the sight of the shopping district of Emerald Hill Zone surprises me. The night air is much warmer than I recall from the last time I was here. I suppose it's because it's getting just that bit closer to summer. I feel different, though. Hotter on the inside, maybe? The thought doesn't last too long as I turn to look at Shadow in curiosity.

He laughs quietly at my expression before explaining. "I figured you'd want to see your little brother, so I brought you here, because I don't know where you live…"

I smile at his thoughtful move and begin to lead him through the deserted stalls towards the beginnings of Mystic Ruins. "That's sweet of you, Shads! You'll also get to meet him and his Bound as well. I'd imagine you and he'd have a lot in common because of how smart you guys are."

He seems genuinely amused now as we walk through the soft, healthy grass towards the more sandy area where the workshop/house is built. "Really? I've never mentioned my intellect to you. How did you figure it out?"

" _Please._ I've known Tails since he was four when he was making all sorts of crazy inventions. I can pick up on that type of stuff from a mile away." I smile at the ease of conversation and make us pick up our pace when I see the building up on the hill. "Come on! It's right there!"

I burst through the front door with vigor and call out, "Yo, Tails! Cosmo! We're back!"

When I don't see anyone immediately appear in my sights in the next second (my patience is very short when I'm eager), I turn to Shadow and tell him, "I'm gonna go look for them. You stay right there." I disappear in a blue streak before he can respond and head down towards the workshop, thinking Tails might be there.

I meet him in the middle of the staircase and envelop him in a hug.

"Impatient as always, I see. Good to have you back, bro!" He laughs as he returns the embrace.

"Yeah, well, I just really wanted to see you guys and have you meet Shadow," I explain when I finally pull back from my furry orange kid brother. I look behind him, expecting to see Cosmo standing there, but I see empty wooden steps instead. "Hey, uhh, where's Cosmo?"

He thinks while looking behind me. "Well, she should be in the kitchen. She, uhh, made me dinner before."

I sense a story there, but I don't bring it up. Instead I pull my brother up the steps with hyperactive energy. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!"

We both skid to a stop at what we see, though: Shadow and Cosmo talking. But it's not just that. It's Shadow mostly. His way of speaking is soft and gentle, so different from how he usually talks to people from what I gathered from his personality. Even Tails can notice the difference in behavior, and he doesn't even know much about Shadow. I can already guess the reason as to why he's acting this way.

It's Maria.

Cosmo must remind him of her. She's a sweet girl of nearly the same age, and it must be an automatic reaction for him. I think it's kind of sweet.

"Well, they seem to be hitting it off pretty well," Tails notes as Cosmo giggles and Shadow gives a small smile.

I nod and smile. "Yeah. I can see them becoming close."

~XxX~

I moan in delight as the hot water washes all of the grim of the adventure from my body. It's a little uncomfortable, though, because it seems almost _too_ hot for some reason. _That's weird. This is the temperature I always use it on. Why am I so hot?_ My mind becomes a little hazy, but not enough for me to become concerned with. I just chalk it up to exhaustion.

The evening has been a bit eventful. We had a great time over dinner after Tails awkwardly tried to divert Cosmo from making any more food and Shadow skillfully offered to cook instead. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he has the skills of a master chef or "Ultimate Chef" as he insisted on saying.

Tails and Shadow talked about how cold to ultra-cold neutrons form and a bunch of other things that went over my head as I caught up with Cosmo, or the other way around, I suppose. It was honestly one of the best dinners I've had in a long time.

I dry my fur and put the soft damp towel in the hamper before exiting into my dark bedroom, the lights having been left off. I smell the most delightful scent and make my way to it in almost a daze. My climb into my bed is slow and realize this is where the smell is emanating from.

Getting under the warm, blue sheets, even though I really don't need to be any hotter, I snuggle closer to the inviting body that's already occupying it. Shadow had at first offered to sleep on the couch, but one raised eyebrow from me and he corrected his suggestion.

I'd never realized how empty my bed was until now. Shadow turns onto his back so that I can lay my head nicely on his fluffy chest fur. "You seem more relaxed," he comments as he settles back down.

I hum softly. "Yeah, the shower worked wonders." _And you smell so good._

I feel the light press of lips on my forehead before his deep voice intones, "Goodnight, hedgehog."

"'night, Shadow." I slowly begin to sink into a dazed sleep.

* * *

Sonic's not actually hurt at the end of this chapter! A miracle, huh? Well next chapter is... yeah, you guessed it—Mating Season! Although I do plan on having, hopefully, humorous moments in it as well.

Thanks for all of the support guys! You're amazing!


	11. Falling Into One

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

 **Be warned, mature content.**

* * *

 **~11~**

 **-Falling Into One-**

The rapid clicking of keys can be heard in the room as Tails types away on his computer. Cosmo is busying herself with tidying up the place and happens to stumble upon a little wilting plant. She gains a sympathetic expression and puts away the bag of cheese snacks she's holding.

She begins to sort of mess around with the flower. Well, _mess around_ aren't the right words—more like bring it back to life. A kind of green aura forms from her palms and pulses into the plant as it begins to stand taller, more healthy and alive. Soon after, her soft, feminine voice sounds quietly in the room.

"Hey there, little guy, what's wrong?" She pauses for a moment as if waiting for an answer only she can hear before speaking again. "Oh, you just want a little more sunshine. I can help you with that." Her response is sweet as she lifts the flowerpot off of the desk and on to the windowsill, closer to where the sun shines when it rises into the sky. "There you go—now you'll feel all better." Her smile is radiant, as if saving the life of that plant was the most fulfilling thing in the world.

Tails, having looked up when she started speaking, appears absolutely amazed. "You're really something, Cosmo," he comments sweetly.

She turns to him as if remembering his presence and flushes in embarrassment. "T-thanks, Tails." She walks over to him and puts on a stern face. "You know, you should be getting to bed too."

He looks sheepish before his outward appearance becomes serious. "Not right now. I've just come up with an idea I should have thought of ages ago. Since Eggman has the information on the prophecy, I'm going to hack into his system and get the info from there."

She relents with a sigh. "Okay, fine. Good luck."

"Thanks." _I'll need it._ His thoughts radiate uncertainty.

His focus solely lies on the screen in front of him as he opens up a window to begin trying to break into the remote system. After a while he makes the connection and sighs in relief. _Okay, so now I have to try and figure out the password. What could it be?_ he wonders as he begins trying things that might work.

Eggman. INCORRECT

EggmanRules. INCORRECT

Robotnik. INCORRECT

Sonic. INCORRECT

Feeling a little frustrated, he tries something random.

IHateThatHedgehog. CORRECT

Raising an eyebrow, Tails shakes his head in disbelief but accepts his luck. He begins to search around for the file and smiles with glee when he notices one labeled "Aquatic Ruin Prophecy." _It's from Aquatic Ruin Zone?_

Filing that thought for later, he puts in the password again, and that's when all hell begins to break loose. _Oh, no! He's on to me!_ He knows this because Eggman's insignia pops up onto his monitor and a little screen displays, showing a progression bar reading: _Deletion In Progress: 5% Complete._

"No! It was a trap!" he cries in alarm, seeing the data of his computer slowly starting to be erased. _I have to close the connection or I'll lose my computer!_ he frantically realizes as he begins the processes of closing off the link.

 _7% Complete_. "Urgh…" His fingers are a blur on the keys until, finally, he's out of Eggman's system with only 10% of his system wiped.

"Tails… what happened?" Cosmo hesitantly asks after having watched everything occur, but she didn't want to interrupt for fear of making things worse.

He sighs warily before looking up into the cerulean eyes of his mate. "Eggman set up a trap knowing I would eventually try to hack into his system to get information. _But_ he was stupid enough to name the file after the prophecy. Now I know where it comes from, and we can go to Aquatic Ruin Zone to find it ourselves!" he excitedly explains.

Cosmo nods in agreement before speaking. "Okay, but it'll have to be tomorrow."

The kitsune pouts but agrees. Just as he stands up, they hear a thump from upstairs. "What… was that?"

Cosmo seems curious as well, and the two head up the steps to investigate.

~XxoOoxX~

 _Why do I feel so hot…?_ I pant and twist on the bed sheets, thankfully not waking Shadow. His scent is practically wafting in the air, tantalizing me. _Smells so good_ …

I turn to him and bury my face in the crook of his neck as I inhale and shudder. Without much thought, I climb on top of his body and settle there nicely. _He's so warm and soft._ My lips latch onto his neck, where I begin to suck and kiss slowly. My legs settle on either side of his waist as I accidentally lower my hips to meet his.

My whole body trembles as I whine softly, feeling my ears lower at the sudden sensation. _What was that…?_ I move my hips again, almost against my will, and weakly clutch onto Shadow at the wave of pleasure that follows suit. _"Ahh…"_

I nestle my face more deeply into the fur of Shadow's neck, moving my hips against his rhythmically. _W-what am I doing? Why does this feel so g-good?_ I whimper and mewl when I feel my length beginning to unsheathe and make contact with the warm member of Shadow.

He shifts and groans a bit, but I stay latched to him, grinding our lengths together, something I never thought would feel this _amazing._ My mind is so hazy, all I can think about is how hot I am and how touching Shadow like this makes the heat a bit more bearable.

" _Mmm… S-Shadow…"_ I moan lowly and feel a wetness begin to leak from my member.

My face, which was already hot, feels like it's about to burst into flames at what might have actually been oozed. Shadow's deep groan alerts me to his regaining of consciousness, and I have no way of even stopping my motions—even if I wanted to.

I see his eyes open blearily, clouded with confusion and… the beginnings of panic? Even with the haze of this heat, I can still understand that something's not right.

Suddenly being pinned with my wrists next to my head and staring into the angry confused eyes of my mate confirms this immediately.

~XxoOoxX~

 _Where am I? What's going on? If it's those damn GUN agents again, I'll show them not to mess with me…!_ I grab the offending person and flip them on to their back, ready to finish them off, when a delicate whimper reaches my ears.

No way would they show such signs of fear around me—unless, of course, I start breaking bones. I try to focus on the person below me, slowly regaining focus. I smell vanilla and mint, such a nice combination. It's practically polluting the area we're in. I seem to remember that scent…

Just when I get the idea of who is under me, his voice whines needily, " _Shadow…"_

The very sight of him sets my blood aflame, his face flushed and his lips releasing pants and little whines and whimpers. I've never seen such a delicious vision. Practically on its own accord, my lip curls over my teeth, allowing a fang to show as I smirk. I bend down to his slightly twitching left ear and speak in one of my deepest intones, "What have you been doing, hedgehog?"

He whines and twists helplessly in my grip, feebly trying to raise his hips up to meet mine. " _Shadow… please. I'm s-so hot… I need you."_ His voice really is full of need as he begs; the very sound strengthens my arousal, and whatever warning bells about giving him what he wants seem to disappear.

"You need me, huh, Sonic?" I ask huskily, starting to lower myself.

" _Y-yess, I—ahhh… Shadow!"_ He mewls loudly as I begin to rub our lengths together. A hiss escapes me through gritted teeth at the glorious feeling, and I dive down to claim his lips vigorously. I feel his arms try to weakly escape my grip as I keep him in place, holding him steady for my thrusts as I messily reconnect our lips, savoring the taste of his mouth.

" _Ugnnn…_ " He groans and whimpers as I bring pleasure to his body. The feeling of saliva beginning to trail along the corner of his lips causes me to break away and make a path down his muzzle with my tongue. _Dear God, he's like a forbidden fruit… something I shouldn't have, but I can't help but plunder…_

I groan as he matches my thrusts and begins to weakly cry my name. The fire raging inside me settles low in my groin, and I realize sluggishly that I'm close to bursting.

I pant and fight against the almost painful building of pleasure, knowing from my studies that there's a much better way to find release… Giving one last thrust, I pull back only to feel wet liquid splash across my lower abdomen regardless directly from the beauty I was stimulating vigorously. _I guess I didn't stop fast enough for him…_

Looking at my beautiful sapphire Chaos Bound, I can see that his face is pinched almost as if he's in pain, but the kittenish whine he gives as he releases tells me otherwise. I nearly follow suit, despite my efforts to hold back anyway at the mere sight, and have to bite my lip and take a deep breath to calm down.

His chest rises and falls quickly as he catches his breath. When he finally opens his eyes, he looks embarrassed. "Chaos… What did I do?"

I chuckle deeply and lean down to leave kisses slowly along his neck, speaking between kisses as I do. "You had an orgasm…"

He inhales softly and swallows. "H-huh?"

This causes me to laugh again. His naïveté on the subject is oddly attractive to me. "Do you know what sex is, hedgehog?"

He thinks for a moment while I begin to trail kisses along his collarbone, specifically his Mark when he shudders upon contact with it. "Umm… not really? I-I just know you're s'posed to wear a condom so you don't impregnate a girl. I-is this sex?"

I bring my face up to gaze into his curious yet lust-laden eyes. "No… this is more along the lines of foreplay… Would you like me to show you what sex is? Although, I prefer to call it 'making love'…" I feel like we're not supposed to be doing this for some reason, but things are becoming so cloudy all of a sudden.

His face flushes crimson and his ears lower when he responds meekly with, " _Yes, please…"_

I don't need any more incentive than that. Nestling my lips into the fur of his chest, I find a swollen nub and start to lick and suckle, hoping to hear more delicious calls and cries from his lips. He doesn't disappoint, and just the sound of his voice has my length dripping pre-cum.

My hands bring his together above his head so that I can clasp them with one hand, freeing the other to do whatever I please. My free appendage rubs along his sides slowly, moving up towards the other nipple where it twists and teases it.

The feel of his newly revived length against my stomach makes me want to taste something _different_. Leaving the abused nipple and hearing his whine of disappointment, I laugh to myself at the surprise he's about to get. _You won't be so disappointed after this, hedgehog…_

His scent is sharp and mouthwatering when I finally reach my target, and although I've never done this before, I'm very eager to begin taste-testing. As I try a slow lick against the sticky warmth, the pungent contrast of sweet and salty assaults my senses and has me wanting more.

" _Sh-Shadow! What a-are—?"_ My mate groans deeply in confusion and pleasure, subconsciously bucking his hips up to gain more of the feeling.

Not wanting him to move as I give him sensual gratification, I remove my hand from his nipple and place it firmly on his hip instead. "Just enjoy the ride, Sonic…" I purr then turn my eyes back on the prize, taking the flushed tip into my mouth, wary of my larger-than-normal canines.

He cries passionately and begins to writhe helplessly as I take more and more into my mouth, making sure to suck and lick along the smooth skin of his member. Pre-cum gushes into my mouth, even more potent than the taste from before, causing me to groan and buck my hips against the bed sheet desperately. _I need to be inside of him._ Now.

Pulling back from his glistening length, I ignore his cries for more and turn him gently yet firmly onto his stomach, almost instinctively, wanting him in proper mating position. _Now, I've only studied about male/female mating aboard the ARK, so I don't know much about how to do this…_ Looking at his lowered torso and elevated rear, his little tail raised, seeming to taunt me with the puckered opening below it…

Grinning wickedly, I slowly begin to tease his tail as I gently twist it around my finger, bringing my face closer to his newly discovered opening.

" _Mmm… Shads, what are you doin'?"_

Instead of answering, I pass my tongue across his opening firmly, causing him to gasp and jerk. " _Ughnn, Shadow! S-stop! Y-you're not supposed to—"_

Disregarding his weak protests, I press my tongue inside the tight heat to hear more of his moans and whimpers. " _Shads… ahhh… d-don't touch there… mmm…"_ Despite his objections, he pushes back against my tongue, wanting a taste of what I plan on giving him.

Giving a last roll of my tongue, I deem him well lubed and pull back, eagerly ready to plunge into his snug opening. I climb on top of his panting form, making sure to line myself up and nuzzle my face next to his. His eyes are squeezed shut, his mouth left open as he gasps for breath. Giving a throaty laugh, I tell him, "I suggest you brace yourself, hedgehog. This is going to be a _bumpy_ ride."

My hips snap forward, and the world seems to fade away. All that matters is the hedgehog below me, the tight heat that surrounds me, and the connection between us.

He trembles beneath me, a little cry escaping him. " _Chaos, Shadow!"_

I groan, pull my hips back, and slam back in, positively loving the way he feels. _God, I can do this forever._ Almost without thought, I begin to increase my pace, his body arching into my thrusts gracefully, adding to the pleasure. His hands tremble as he claws the sheet, screaming and begging for more.

" _Shadow! Shadow, PLEASE! Sooo good… Ohhhh…"_

Fuck if I don't come just from that. I pant in exertion, nearly pounding into him at this point; the sound of the headboard hitting the wall falls on deaf ears.

" _OH, CHAOS, SHAODW!_ _Right t-there! Feels good… ahhh… r-right there…"_

His screaming moans and tightening entrance let me know that I found his sweet spot, and, wanting to please him, I aim just for that place. His smooth, almost slick heat contracting around my length forces me to bury my face into his relaxed quills as I groan deeply. " _Sonic… God, I love you…"_

His arms give out on him, and he sinks his face into the pillow below him. _"Shadow… Shadow, I love you…. please… mmm…"_

We're both so close, and my heart is pounding ridiculously fast. Wanting to drive my Bound over the edge first, I begin to thrust harder, _faster_ into him, his body willingly taking everything I give.

" _Fuuuck!"_ Sonic cries loudly as I relentlessly hammer into his pleasure point.

" _Language,"_ I growl throatily into his ear before nipping it affectionately. I know I should be a bit gentler in this first joining, but my instincts are demanding that I dominate my submissive, that I claim what's mine…

Suddenly my eyes lock onto the section where his neck meets his left shoulder. Trailing my nose along it, I inhale his vanilla, mint-like scent, feeling my mouth water. My tongue laps the area of its own accord, resulting in Sonic's shudder and him exposing his neck more for me to…

~XxoOoxX~

 _What is he doing to me?_ His hips slam into my rear again, pulling a strangled moan from my throat.

 _Chaos, who would've thought being pounded into would be utter bliss?_ I should have done this ages ago… Shadow groans into my head quills as his thrusting motions pick up pace. _Okay, so w-waiting was definitely the right choice…_

I can barely breathe with all the moans and whimpers that leave my throat nearly every second. His forceful thrusts make it hard to hold back… A particular strike causes me to tear the bed sheets to ribbons below my hands, my member twitching and leaking more of that liquid from before, forming a nice puddle below me.

 _Oh, Chaos, please don't ever let this end…_ My length is so hot and swollen, absolutely ready to burst from the constant stream of pleasure. The carnality is almost painful as he hits that spot over and over and _over_ again. My eyes become teary as I hold the remains of the sheet for dear life, allowing the heat inside me to become near agonizing. _Ohhhh, that feeling is s-so close…_

" _Ahhh-ahhh-ahhhh!"_

I feel his tongue begin to trace along my neck again and immediately tilt my head to allow him better access. _Anything to make this never end…_

His teeth scrap against my skin, causing a hitch in my breath. _What is he…?_ There's more pressure, and I realize he's about to break the skin with his sharp teeth. I don't even feel a hint of panic rise in my system, oddly enough—just the near snapping of that pressure building inside me.

Then he bites.

I thought it would feel painful, but it's the exact opposite. I'm so far up in ecstasy that I black out for a moment, not even caring about the earth-shattering scream I emit upon release. The only thing I notice is his essence seeping into me. Not just the liquid warmth that fills me down below in thick milky white spurts, but his actual Chaos energy. It's like having my pure energy tainted by a bit of his darkness.

I love it.

Soon after, his heavy weight sinks onto me, and we collapse onto the bed in a sweaty, sticky heap. I moan tiredly and feel him lap the blood lazily from my shoulder. Slowly he extracts himself, much to my displeasure— _I love the feel of you inside me!_ —and lies down beside me.

I weakly lock eyes with him and notice the vibrant shine in his blood red orbs. "Did you like that?"

Giving a satisfied chuckle, I purr, "Like that? I _loved_ it. I want to do it again and again… over and over." Just the thought sends a tingle down my spine and a streak of arousal in my system. The heat was doused for the moment, but it's slowly beginning to rise again…

"Hmm… Well, whenever you want to, I'm _more_ than willing to give you what you want…" he agrees huskily.

Feeling my heart beginning to speed up again, I slowly crawl onto him, forcing him onto his back. "Yeah?"

His hands grasp my waist as I settle my legs on either side of his body. " _Yeah._ "

~XxoOoxX~

Two twelve-year-old pre-teens stop outside the door the alleged sounds are coming from. Twin expressions of concern blossom on each of their faces as a particularly loud bang reaches their ears.

"Do you think they're okay? I mean, what could be going on?" Tails ask the Seedrian next to him, the tails behind him swishing in anxiety.

Cosmo raises a hand to her mouth in worry as she speaks. "I don't know, Tails. You think we should go in?"

He looks hesitant for a moment before determination sets in and he nods. "Yeah. If they're being hurt, we should help them!"

He grabs ahold of the nob when a loud moan sounds from the room. _"Shadow!"_

Having never heard his brother's voice sound like that before, he removes his hand from the nob slowly in uncertainty and unconsciously begins to blush.

Cosmo's face resembles his as she widens her eyes. "Are they…?" she asks slowly.

" _S-Shadow… soooo good… ahhh…!"_ the loud cries sound, making them back away in embarrassment.

"Y-yeah. I think we should—"

"Yeah."

In agreement, the two rush down the steps and back towards the basement, away from the room containing the two hedgehogs.

~XxoOoxX~

Clangs and bangs can be heard as the Doctor makes some final improvements to his machine. After he screws in a bolt, a mechanical voice interrupts him. "Doctor, there have been some developments."

Dr. Eggman puts down his screwdriver and turns to the small silver flying bot. "Yes. What is it?"

The bot hovers for a moment before speaking. "The fox hacked into your system but was forced to flee due to the trap you set for him."

Chortling, the Doctor smiles maliciously. "I knew he would eventually. Serves him right for trying to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. Is that all?"

The bot waits for a movement, as if contemplating, before speaking again. "There has been progress with the two hedgehogs."

This causes the evil genius to hop up with surprising agility. "Really? I must see for myself!"

The bot watches as the Doctor exits the room, almost appearing to gain a sweat drop before following after his creator.

Quickly turning on his monitor, Eggman begins to examine the screen before him. His face is at first puzzled, then his eyes widen, and he all but screams as the horror sets in. "Turn it off! _Turn it off!"_

The robot does as commanded before floating away from the scarred Doctor.

Silence settles into the room.

"I-I think I need to go sit in a corner for a while," he finally murmurs before weakly standing and walking off.

The bot just watches as he goes, a definite sweat drop on his metal cranium.

~XxoOoxX~

A girlish giggle echoes in the extravagant bedroom of her beautiful house. "Oh, _stop it,_ Knuckles…" the albino bat commands playfully as the echidna atop her nips and kisses her neck.

He pulls back with affection in his usually tempered amethyst eyes and retorts, "Would you stop playing hard to get? You're the one who came onto _me."_

She rolls her eyes and inhales to respond when a ringing interrupts her. She looks at the lavender phone on her nightstand.

"I don't know why you had me install that thing," Knuckles mutters as he gets off of his provocative mate.

"Obviously for moments of emergency." She picks up the incessantly ringing phone and answers with a sultry, "Hello?"

She pauses for a moment, listening to the answer on the end. "Uh-huh… Wait. You say they're doing what now? …oh. I'll be there soon." Her answer brings an incensed _"What?_ " out of the guardian.

Turning to look at him with patient teal eyes, she gets off the bed and fixes her leather attire. "I have to go help out fox boy and his little girlfriend. Turns out hedgehog mating season just hit."

Giving her a raised eyebrow, he demands, "And?"

She huffs at his attitude. "And _what_? They're kids. They shouldn't be exposed to that for a few years yet. I'll tell Shadow to take Sonic to his place and be done with it."

Knuckles crosses his arms over the white crescent moon that marks his chest. "Fine. Just don't take too long."

She flutters her eyelashes in his direction and leans down in front of him, allowing a lot of cleavage to show. Her lip gloss-covered lips mesh with his sensually before she pulls back and purrs, "Sure thing, Knux."

Knuckles refuses to admit his face is as red as his fur. Then a thought occurs to him. "Wait— _little girlfriend!?"_

* * *

...so I hope you enjoyed? ^^'

Next chapter, surprisingly, doesn't feature much of Sonic and Shadow as we focus on Cosmo and Tails searching for details on the prophecy.


	12. A Discovery To Tip The Balance

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

 **Be warned, slight mature content.**

* * *

 **~12~**

 **-A Discovery To Tip The Balance-**

It takes me quite a few hours to fly from Angel Island to the house on the hill near the edge of Mystic Ruins, forcing the late hours of the night to yield to that of early morning light. Not bothering to knock, I walk in, hoping the kids haven't been exposed to _too_ much mental scarring. _Why am I on damage control duty anyway? Shouldn't that Rose girl be doing something? Come to think of it, I haven't heard much about her lately…_

The living room is quiet, and my excellent hearing picks up the faint sounds of moans coming from upstairs. Smirking wryly, I head for the basement workshop where the kids are surely to be. My heels click on the cement floor, and I take a gander, seeing Tails asleep in his little plane and that Cosmo girl asleep in the only bed down here. _Aww, how sweet! What a little gentlemen he's turning out to be._

"Rise and shine! The sun is up, so you should be as well!" I call, gaining immediate notice from the stirring bodies.

"W-wha—?" Tails says before noticing my dazzling form in the doorway. "Oh, Rouge, you made it!"

"I said I would come, didn't I?" I smirk then turn my eyes to the dainty figure of Cosmo as she gets out of bed. "Good to see you again, Cosmo."

"You as well, Rouge!" She offers a smile before a particularly loud bang from upstairs breaks into the conversation awkwardly.

I turn towards the direction of the upper levels of the house as I begin to speak. "I'm going to see about getting Shadow to take Sonic to his house for mating season. By the way, why isn't that Rose girl around doing this…?"

"Oh, I expected she would have been around by now, but… she found her Chaos Bound and…" Tails trials off embarrassedly.

 _That explains it._ "Say no more." I give a slow wave as I disappear from the room, hearing their resounding "Thanks!" in gratitude.

As I get closer to the Blue Blur's room, I can't help but feel a little appalled. _Sonic is usually a bit more considerate of his little brother. I know how strong a season can be, but really._ Now outside the door the ruckus is much louder and even blush-worthy.

" _Ohhh… C-Choas! D-don't stoooop…"_

 _Is that actual crying I'm hearing? It's still weird hearing Sonic be so emotional…_ I'll admit, even I'm a bit hesitant in opening the door, but it must be done. Taking the knob in hand, I turn it without pause and swing the door open.

The stench of sex reaches my nose first before sight sets in. Sonic's room is a small place with him not really needing much except for a bed, side table, and lamp. The only other notable thing is the large window on the far side of the room and the door most likely leading to the bathroom. Looking at the bed, I see that the sheets are a terrible mess, but the hedgehogs aren't lying there, surprisingly.

No, Shadow has Sonic against the wall, his legs securely around the ebony's waist so the dark one can plow him into the wall.

My tongue can't seem to form words at the sight, but Sonic's sure can.

" _I-I'm ugnnn… I think I'm g-gonna—!"_

Shadow leans his body weight fully on the hedgehog he's taking, growling within the confines of his mate's neck as he gives one last thrust and the two find release together. Tears, _actual_ tears, seem to track Sonic's muzzle for a moment at the apparently intense sensation, and he holds onto his Bound as his body trembles in rapture.

The whole scene is a bizarre mix of disturbing and hot. _Never thought I would see two guys go at it… Not exactly what I came here to do…_ Finally finding my voice, I speak with the confident flourish that I'm known for. "Hey, boys, I know it's your season, but I think you've forgotten that there are two kids in the house… Wouldn't want to scar them any more than what's already been done, now would you?" I ask innocently as they turn to take notice of me.

Shadow seems royally pissed at the interruption, but a dull sense of realization lights in his eyes at my words. Sonic, on the other hand, seems completely embarrassed and horrified at the thought of his little brother and—sister-in-law?—having heard them.

"Just go to Sunshine's house until things settle down. Problem solved." I shrug while looking at my pristine gloved hand in a show of lack of concern.

Shadow snorts, and in a flash of light the room has two less occupants and my job is done… until I see their shoes left unattended to and a tired sigh escapes me. _Is my work ever done?_ Picking them up, I carry them to Sonic's little sidekick, hoping he'll finish my job.

Seeing the two getting ready to hop into the X Tornado dampens my mood as my lips curve into a frown. "Seriously? After I just got those two out of the house, you weren't even going to say good-bye?"

They look sheepish for a moment before Tails explains himself, "Well, we have a new lead on the prophecy, and Cosmo said we could go today, soo…"

 _I see who wears the pants in this relationship… smart girl._ "Well, they left their shoes, which I'm sure we all know is bad news." I so _badly_ want to suggest that they bring the shoes, but I know it's not a good idea. Sucking up my displeasure, I continue with much less vigor, "So I'll go bring them to the two troublemakers…"

Tails and Cosmo smile in relief, quickly jumping into the impressive flying machine. "Thanks again, Rouge! We really appreciate it!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just get out of here before I change my mind," I mutter as the craft begins to rev up. The garage doors open, and the thing flies off faster than I can blink.

I decide to fly out of that exit as well, seeing as it's a quicker way out. _You guys owe me BIG._

~XxoOoxX~

"It was really nice of Rouge to do all of those things," the sweet voice of Cosmo says as the terrain of the island rushes by on the outside of the plane. She still doesn't like going very fast, but focusing on Tails helps things a lot.

"Yeah, I know. She can be a really good friend when she wants to be," Tails responds, his attention focusing on the radar every once in a while, the memory of Eggman's last attack still fresh on his mind. He has the plane going at jet speeds, even though he knows Cosmo gets pretty dizzy going fast, but making sure the plane is steady should make it easier on her. Going at these speeds cuts the time it'll take to get to Aquatic Ruin dramatically. Speaking clearly over the hum of the engine, Tails informs Cosmo of the news. "We should be there within an hour. That sound good?"

Feeling her little heart pound in anxiety, she answers a little weakly, "Yes, that's good."

Nodding, he watches as the green hills morph into the dead and decaying structures of a once-vibrant Plant, the stench thankfully not reaching them through the closed glass on the plane. As Chemical Plant Zone begins to fade away, the fox starts to feel his worry rise. _Will Eggman be there waiting for me…? It was a stupid idea to leave the name of the prophecy on the file._

The anticipated Zone finally comes into view, and Tails slows the plane down drastically so that any weird things can be seen as they fly by. "Okay, we're here. Keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious details," he requests kindly as his sky blue eyes begin to search for any difference in the Zone from his memories.

"Okay, Tails, but I think I have a better idea," Cosmo proposes instead.

Arching an eyebrow, he asks, "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, it's simple. I'll ask the plants around here if they saw a man with a large mustache doing anything unusual to this Zone."

Astonishment washes over him at that realization. "That does seem easy…" Stopping the plane completely so that he can open the window for the Seedrian to talk to the plants, he watches as she leans out and gently brushes one of the many bushes that thrive in this Zone.

"Hey, there! I need some help—do you mind? I was wondering if you'd seen a large man with a big mustache messing around in this Zone?" She waits for the replies, and a frown crosses her face. "No? Well, um, how about any robots? Have you seen any one of those?" Again she waits patiently, and this time she gains a smile. "Really, you did? Oh? A blue hedgehog as well… Okay, thank you so much for your help!" She smiles brightly and gives the bush a last affectionate brush.

Turning to Tails, who's awaiting answers, she begins to relay the information. "Well, they didn't see Eggman, but they did see a robot make a hole in the ground further up ahead. They, umm, also saw a blue hedgehog trip over the very same hole one night. They said he fell in some water and was horribly frightened."

The tips of Tails' namesakes fidget upon hearing the news, happy that they know of the location of the prophecy but concerned about Sonic's dip in the water. _He didn't mention that when I saw him at Casino Night Zone. I guess his meeting with Shadow was a more pressing matter at the time,_ the kitsune decides in the end _._ "Well, I'm glad nothing too bad happened to Sonic… Come on, let's go look at that prophecy!" Tails finally responds.

Cosmo nods, and they both leap out of the plane as they head across the log bridge near a waterfall and finally see what the plant was talking about. A very neat hole is cut into the ground only so wide in diameter, probably meant for a small bot.

Tails pulls out his Wrist Com., which is actually more advanced than the ones he lets his friends use, seeing as it's equipped with all sorts of gadgets for everyday needs. Activating a small laser, he begins to cut into the dull yellow stones in order to make the opening wider.

Once accomplished, he turns to Cosmo with a serious look. "I'm going to go first, okay? Make sure nothing crazy happens."

She looks uncertain for a moment before nodding. "Be careful."

Spinning his tails, he begins to lower himself down slowly, gazing in awe at the secret area of Aquatic Ruin. Everything is bathed in darkness except where the light from the sun's rays reach. The stones look new and pristine, having not been seen for centuries. Finally landing on the ground, he starts to look around, seeing not much of anything until the sun's rays seem to show him what he's looking for.

Before he can really begin to read the prophecy engraved on the stone wall, the sunlight is blocked for a moment by the slow floating of a being as she enters the area. Landing easily on her feet, she begins to examine the room herself and notices what the fox did.

At the same time they read: " _When three Powers are brought together, an army undefeated will be created. All are Chaos, but two are complete opposites. The two must be united as one, while the last is unique in the most obvious of ways."_

As they turn to each other in shock, the plant like girl asks, "What could that mean?"

Shaking his head, Tails activates another gadget on his Wrist Com. to take a picture of the prophecy. "I understand some of it, but I want to get back to the workshop to analyze it some more. Come on."

Revving his tails, he hovers for a moment to lift her by hand and begins to propel them up the hole. Once outside, five sleek robots stand before them as if in a greeting committee. Growling in frustration, Tails takes a stand in front of Cosmo. _I knew he'd try something!_ his thoughts yell angrily.

"HOHOHOHO! I knew you'd come here!" Eggman's voice sounds before the torso of the robot standing front and center changes into a monitor with the Doctor's face on it. "I would have been there myself, but… those hedgehogs delayed me last night and... I don't wish to talk about it." The evil genius looks a little spooked for a moment before his face returns to overconfidence. "My bot assistant admittedly told me it wasn't such a smart idea to name the file what I did, but no matter. You still won't be able to stop me! Eggtrons, teach them a lesson!"

The screen turns back to the silver torso of the robot, and they immediately begin their attack. The kitsune, unused to hand-to-hand combat but still having some skill, begins to deflect as many blows as he can with his surprisingly deadly bushy tails.

While three handle the kid genius, two begin to go after Cosmo. She, having even less experience than the kit, simply dodges any attacks with swift agility. While dodging vicious attacks, the sight of one of the creations vanishing and reappearing behind her mate catches her eyes, but she can do nothing before they quickly grab him in his surprise.

Realizing the machines are about to land painful blows on him, a green aura begins to form around her, highlighting her form and glowing around her eyes. Suddenly, the wildlife around them begins to move unnaturally, quickly wrapping around the five robots tightly, almost instantly pulling them to pieces.

Tails falls onto his knees in shock then turns his eyes to stare at Cosmo in wonder. "Wow… that was…" He clambers to his feet and swiftly makes his way to her side, gently taking her hands and shyly kissing her cheek. "You keep amazing me every day."

Her face turns red as she ducks her head allowing her flowing green hair a chance to shield her bashfulness. "Thanks…"

"Let's get out of here before Egghead sends more robots," Tails suggests while pulling the unique girl behind him towards his plane.

~XxoOoxX~

Having half a mind to slam his fist into the monitor in front of him at the message reading that his robots were again TERMINATED, he agitatedly brings up the last feed the robots took, trying to figure out how such weaklings could have destroyed his creations. _Maybe only having the power of one Emerald infused in them is the problem,_ he muses as the footage loads up.

He expects to see some gadget from the fox kid be summoned up to destroy his hard worked-upon creations; his eyes widen behind his shaded glasses at a very different sight. "Whoa…"

The green aura of the Seedrian seems to make many connections in his brain, the most important one resulting in a devious smile. "Thank you, Cosmo. You just helped me figure out the third power." The malicious laughter that follows echoes ominously around the base.

* * *

A bit on the short side, but a revelation is made... Sonic and Shads come back into the fray next week just when things set in motion.

Be prepared for the ride ahead guys. Thanks for reading!


	13. Playing Into His Hands

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

 **Be warned, mature content.**

* * *

 **~13~**

 **-Playing Into His Hands-**

Warm, moist lips lay gentle kisses all along my chest; twinges of pleasure course through my system with each touch. A deep thrust causes me to bend my back gracefully and release a shuttering moan. I grip tighter to the shoulders of the person above me, whining at the almost new intense sensation.

" _Ohhh, Shadow…"_ Weakly opening my eyes, I hold the gaze of the desire- and love-filled eyes of my Chaos Bound.

The heat of our panting exhales mixes together as he continues to drive deeply yet slowly into me. A particular thrust forces me to squeeze my eyes shut, and the feel of lips on mine allows my whimper to travel into his mouth. The kiss is passionate, like the love we're making, and our tongues dance in a sensual battle, mixing and tasting each other's unique flavor.

" _Mmmm…"_ I feel so different for some reason—more sensitive, and it's driving me positively _wild_ as I feel that much closer to the edge far faster than I should. I pull back from the kiss as Shadow picks up the pace slightly, and the sensation of my heart trying to pound right out of my chest becomes a sound that's nearly deafening in my ears.

Gasping for breath and practically clawing at his shoulders, I feel that building climax fast approaching.

" _Fuuuck… Shadow, y-you're so good at t-this…"_ I moan loudly at his slow yet impaling thrusts.

" _Language,_ hedgehog. Or do you want me to punish you…?" he growls throatily in my right ear as his hips jerk forward harshly, forcing a sharp cry from my throat before settling back into his rhythm.

Inhaling deeply, I manage to give him a sly look through the fierce blush on my face as I reply in a seductive tone, " _If this is y-your idea of punishment… I'm a-all for it…"_

His eyes darken further into a smoldering burgundy and his pace suddenly turns wilder, _relentless_ ; the intense sensation I've been aware of all day makes me scream and whine, my release far more imminent than before.

" _S-Shads… I think I'm—it feels sooo—!"_

As if sensing my need for release, my mate gingerly leans down towards the left of my shoulder where his personal mark lies. All it takes is a simple graze from his teeth and… a-and—

" _Ahhhhh, Shadooow!"_ Heat so overwhelming my mind might as well be turned to _mush_ engulfs me in a heady ecstasy. I'm hardly privy to the sticky mess I create as dizzying spasms wrack my lower body.

Even through the mind numbing orgasm I still feel a little self-conscious, because I know I can hold out longer than that, but my body feels so unusual today… Through my hazy vision, I see Shadow's visage contort in the throes of passion as he grunts around my tightening entrance, speeding up to find his own relief. He gives a long groan of my name just as he begins to fill me with his sweet essence.

Arching lightly in bliss at the feel, my mind swims in saccharine bliss. _Chaos, that feels good…_ He lies down gently upon me, staying within me for the moment since he discovered my liking of him in me.

It's been two weeks since this whole mating season started, and it's been complete and utter bliss. I've hardly had to leave the bed with Shadow doing everything to take care of my needs.

The first day was full of nothing but mind-blowing lovemaking, and it took a growl from my stomach to make Shadow leave to get food for me. The surprise was that Rouge had actually been by—who knew?—and left our shoes and even a bit of food for us. She really can be an amazing friend when you need her, and I think allowing her to keep some of the Emeralds after this whole thing has passed would be the least we could do.

Shadow was so surprised by how vigorously I chowed down on the chili dogs he prepared me and the… _reward_ I gave to him for making them that he promised to make them more often. I was only allowed to leave the bed for food, restroom breaks, and showers, which more often than not led to more lovemaking…

The heat seemed to dull towards the end of the two weeks, which is weird, because I hear seasons are supposed to last for at least one to two months. That's when our coupling went from being rough and steamy to hot and passionate, both of which I enjoy. Our minds became a bit clearer, and we even conversed between our lengthy coupling sessions. What was that called, again? Pillow talk?

I look at the hedgehog resting around me, _in me_ , feeling love and a bit of insecurity rise in me. There's something I've wanted to ask him about… "Shadow… there's something I need to ask you," I say after we catch our breath.

He raises his head from the crook of my neck and cups my cheek, beginning to caress my muzzle gently. "Yes, Sonic?"

Feeling my face become hot, I smile almost shyly as I begin to inquire, "Well, remember when we first met? That day, I knew you were the one I was waiting on my whole life. You seemed so different, so handsome… I couldn't even form a coherent sentence then for Chaos' sake!" I laugh nervously here before continuing slowly. "I-it's just… you didn't seem to share the same emotion. I mean, was I not very impressive? Am I not attractive enough? I mean, I know you find me at least attractive enough to—"

The hand that was on my muzzle moves in order to cease my insecure rambling. Looking into Shadow's crimson eyes, I can see he's not happy with my words. "Listen very closely, hedgehog, because I am going to make myself very clear. That day in Emerald Hill, the moment I laid eyes on you, I wanted to claim you as mine and _mine_ alone. Every fiber of my being screamed for me to take action, but I couldn't because… because of the prophecy…" His voice seems to trail off in realization.

My heart swells at his words, but I grow concerned at the worried look that seems to be blossoming on Shadow's face. Reaching up, I begin to gently touch his visage. "Shads, what is it?"

His eyes lock on my face then to a place near my left shoulder before he pulls back from me, and I hiss in displeasure at the feel of his absence. He looks suddenly angry, but I can tell it's forced towards himself. " _Damn!_ This wasn't supposed to happen! What was I thinking?"

My heart twinges in pain at his words. I look at him with incredulous hurt in my eyes. "You regret this? Being with me…?"

He looks up, startled, and tries to explain himself to my quickly shattering emotions. "NO! No, that's not… that's not what I meant. Spending time with you and making love to you have been some of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I'd kill anyone who dares to lay a finger on you where it doesn't belong. It's just… the Doctor will use this to his advantage. We've been gone for two weeks. Who knows how far along in his plans he's gotten?"

Feeling reassured by his words, I snuggle against his chest as I offer my suggestion. "Well, since we're not so influenced by the season anymore, why don't we get back to the workshop and start to make plans? But first—a shower!" I hop out of bed and head to the bathroom, slowly swaying my hips as I go, knowing Shadow's eyes are trained on me the whole time.

Placing my hand on the edge of the door frame, I turn to look over my shoulder at Shadow's heated gaze. "Wanna join…?" Not waiting for an answer, I head in, knowing he'll be right behind me. Might as well get in one last mind-blowing session before we head back, right?

~XxX~

We appear in the empty living room, the afternoon's rays shining through the covered windows of the area. Smiling at the familiar surroundings, I open my mouth to yell out, "Hey, guys! We're back!" Now usually I'd go searching for them, but I don't want to move too far away from Shadow for some reason. I think it's because of the season. Even though the urge for sex isn't ridiculously strong, I still want to be around him.

Shadow seems surprised by my lack of movement but ends up turning his eyes back to the stairs leading down to the basement where the workshop lies when two figures begin to rush up the steps in our direction.

"Sonic!" my little bro yells as he comes careening into my arms for a warm embrace. I hold him tightly before pulling back to rub the fur on his forehead affectionately, messing it up as a result. "Ah, _Sonic!_ " he scolds playfully as he fixes his fur.

I turn to see Cosmo greeting Shadow warmly and his hesitant yet kind greeting in return. I smile at Tails beside me, noting his look of curiosity as he gazes at something near the left side of my neck.

"Umm, nice bite-mark?"

I blush vividly for a moment and rub the area, noticing the sensitivity it holds. "Yeah… Shadow, uh, yeah." Deciding to not go any further with that train of thought, I quickly ask him about the goings-on around here since we've been gone. "So what have you guys been up to while we were away, huh?"

Feeling lest flustered, my bro responds in a blasé manner, even though his words are quite the contrary. "Oh, we actually found the prophecy and had a run-in with Eggman."

My eyes squint a bit at that. "Really." Not a question, a statement.

"Yeah. Cosmo really came through for me, though. Wouldn't have made it out unscathed without her," he praises in an affectionate tone.

"That's great! Glad you found someone who'll have your back when I'm not there," I tell him sincerely.

"I've been studying the prophecy as well, and I get how you and Shadow fit into it. I was right about that theory I researched on before, but the big thing is that if Eggman gathers all three powers, he'll get 'an army undefeated.' That really sounds bad…" he informs me in a troubled tone.

I turn to Shadow to see that he and Cosmo have tuned into the conversation Tails and I are having. "Shads, you know about this?"

He nods slowly while crossing his arms. "This is the thing I've been trying to prevent. Now that you and I are united, it'll be easier for him to get what he wants. If he finds the third power before we can figure it out…"

I smile comfortingly in his direction. "Even if that does happen, it's not like we'll fall into his trap so that he'll get us, too. Stop worrying so much."

He looks at me with unamused eyes but does try to relax, I suppose.

I finally turn my eyes to the pale beige-skinned girl in the room, offering her a bright smile. "Hey, Cosmo! How's it goin'?"

She walks closer to me and gives me a small yet warm hug before pulling back, her smile always so bright like the sun. "Things are going well! Your aura is so full of life, by the way, Sonic. I can't help but notice."

I arch an eyebrow and respond confusedly, "Umm, thanks?"

Tails responds almost immediately after, "What do you mean by that? Can you see that in everyone?"

She slowly shakes her head. "No. Not in you and Shadow. Just in Sonic and certain plants I've seen."

Shadow looks serious for a moment as he asks, "What was so special about those plants, Cosmo?"

Her eyes widen at his curiosity. "Oh, well, those plants were—"

A blaring sound from the Wrist Com. Tails adorns causes alarm to rise on his face. "Oh, no! We need to get to the computer in my workshop! Something serious is happening," the orange kit explains before making a mad dash to the indicated area.

We all follow behind to see him typing furiously on the keys of his computer to find out what the alarm was for. An image soon appears onscreen, and we see mayhem occurring in Emerald Hill Zone. Silver sleek robots are everywhere, blasting at buildings and terrorizing people.

There's not a single sign of Eggman, though. _What's he playing at?_

"Come on! We've got to help!" my brother exclaims, already hopping into the X Tornado. I feel a little unease wash through me but nod in agreement. Cosmo hops in the plane behind him, and I turn to Shadow, who seems to feel the same as me.

We nod in sync and take off running towards Emerald Hill Zone, Tails and Cosmo right behind us.

~XxoOoxX~

This whole thing feels like a setup, but I don't see what angle the Doctor is going for. We reach the area of destruction in no time and begin to lay waste to the robots in sight. I can immediately tell that Sonic has learned his lesson from last time and is using the power of the Emeralds to aid him in this fight.

The thrill of the battle always sets my blood ablaze, and it takes a lot of effort not to let a maniacal laugh leave my lips at I tear a robot's head clean off, sending it into the torso of a nearby machine.

I guess GUN's training went _too_ well.

Mobians are running away in panic, and some structures are blazing in flames. This place truly is a war zone. I hear the whirring of a machine appear behind me, and I preform a roundhouse kick to its stomach, using its destroyed body to bat off another approaching robot.

"Yeah!" The enthusiastic cry brings my eyes to Sonic, who's springing on a row of robot's heads in quick succession, smashing them in as he goes. Like me, he's having a great time, just in a less bloodthirsty kind of way.

My sensitive hearing picks up the sounds of heavy laser fire, and I look up to see that plane flying around, shooting down the metal creations from above. Even at those high speeds, I can still make out the fact that Cosmo isn't in the plane with him. Where is she…?

I gasp in surprise when cold metal arms wrap around me, forcing my arms to my body. _Rule number one: Never lose focus. I should know better._ "Shadow the Hedgehog is captured. Plan to relocate to base," it draws out loudly for all to hear.

Giving a scary chuckle, I respond, "Really? I don't seem very captured to me." At the conclusion of my statement, I smash my head back into the machine, my deadly quills doing a great deal of damage before breaking free of its arms, turning around, and dealing a blow so strong to its torso that it starts to self-implode.

Most of the machines are thinning out, but my earlier thought still remains. Where is that girl? Feeling concerned for her, I begin to look around, and my eyes catch sight of her standing near a grouping of trees almost appearing shell shocked.

Immediately dashing over to her in worry, I grasp her arm gently and call out, "Cosmo?"

Her eyes regain focus, and she turns to me, not speaking a word. My brows furrow as I ask, "Is something wrong?"

"I-it's the plants. They—" she cuts herself of firmly before continuing. "It's nothing."

That feeling of unease rises again, but before I can bring anything up, a machine lands on the ground behind us with a thud. My instincts react in order to deal with the threat, but the green aura that surrounds the female in front of me stops me in my tracks instantly.

The trees begin to move of their own accord, capturing the robot and destroying it with ease. I look at her, astonished, as the green aura begins to fade. My brain demands to know how that was possible. "What was that?"

She turns to me with a smile, although it's not as bright as it normally is. "That's a silly question to ask. I'm not Mobian. I'm plant based—therefore, I am one with nature. I can ask them to help me if needed, and I can help them in return whenever the situation calls for it." Her explanation is sound, but something sticks out as odd. I just can't figure out what.

I hear one last explosion and turn around to see the last of the robots destroyed. And not a single word from the Doctor. Something just doesn't seem right here.

Cosmo and I walk over to where Sonic and the kitsune's plane is landed, seeing them already discussing the situation. "What do you think the point of all this was? Just to cause a bit of destruction?" Tails asks in wonderment.

Sonic crosses his arms and looks towards the cloudy sky as if the answers lie there. "I don't know, kiddo, but nobody was hurt. That's all that really matters."

I give a hum of agreement as Cosmo nods her head warily.

"Let's just head back for now until we can figure out anything more valuable," the fox boy suggests, already starting his plane. He looks in Cosmo's direction, waiting for her expectantly, but instead she backs away with a small, hopeful smile.

"Umm, do you guys mind if I stay behind and help the people here clean up a little? It's the least we can do after the trauma these people have gone through…" Her offer is normal enough, but with the situation we're dealing with, it's kind of out of place.

Sonic and Tails look a little hesitant in agreeing, so she hastily adds, "I won't stay too long."

Tails sighs in resignation. "Okay, just come back soon. Be careful."

She nods in relief and begins to wave farewell to us as we depart. I lock eyes with her before I go, not understanding her odd change of behavior. On the trek back, my mind constantly goes over the details over and over again, attempting to make sense of it all, when slowly the pieces that wouldn't fit together fall right into place.

" _Goddamn it!"_ I yell in fury, startling the two walking into the workshop.

Sonic looks surprised and approaches me slowly. "What's wrong, Shads?"

"It. Was. A. _Trap."_ I hiss in indignation _, "_ The fact that she could communicate with plants, control them, sense aura, and had _Chaos energy_ when she's not even Mobian. It's so damn _obvious._ He figured it out before I did. That's why she stayed behind. He must have sent her a message only she could get… through the plants." I turn and blindly punch a hole clean through a tree in trembling rage; the Chaos energy inside me is practically _blazing_.

Sonic's eyes widen in dread. "She's the third power."

Tails has already started his craft and is racing off by the time Sonic and I begin running. We break the sound barrier, getting there before him, but I already know it's too late. As we reach the area we last saw her, there's absolutely no sign of Cosmo.

Seeing various Mobians walking about, coming out of hiding, I grab a male weasel by his collar and hold his face closely. "Have you seen a girl very much resembling a plant around here?"

He answers just as Sonic's little brother touches down and bounds out of the plane in a flurry. "Y-yeah. She was here n-not too long ago. Left with those robots and some large laser-like thing that was floating in the sky," he all but stammers.

 _Laser-like thing?_ It all makes sense. The robots were, of course, a decoy, but the only way the Doctor could get Cosmo to go with him is if he threatened us, thus the large "laser-like thing" in the sky aiming right for us that we didn't even notice.

I let go of the frightened weasel and turn to Sonic's serious demeanor and Tails' frantic, worried appearance. "He's got her. Most likely he's going back to Metropolis where his base is. This is obviously another trap meant for us, but we have no other choice but to go," I calmly explain, knowing that we've screwed up big-time.

"Well, what are we standing here for? Let's go!" the twin-tailed fox exclaims, already prepared to leave.

Sonic's eyes look apologetic, seeing as the very thing he reassured me about earlier ended up occurring. I don't blame him, naturally. No, this was all my fault.

It always is.

* * *

What are our heroes to do from here? Why go after Eggman of course...

Thanks for all the support you've given me thus far with this story guys! It's really nice to read all of your wonderful reviews! I've said it many times, but you guys are amazing! ^_^


	14. United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~14~**

 **-United We Stand, Divided We Fall-**

The scenery around us is nothing but a blur as we race against time to get to the Doctor's base. Even if this is a trap, I still don't like the fact that he took Cosmo for his evil purposes. She's just a young girl, not deserving of anything he has planned for her. I would have simply utilized Chaos Control to get us there quicker, but we might need the fox's plane in this battle, and he's keeping up with us quite well. He's not too far behind us, having the advantage of being able to fly over the terrain.

I turn to look at Sonic: a bluish aura with a hint of gold surrounds him at the high speeds we're racing at, his face set in angry determination. This battle is personal for him on so many levels. Dr. Eggman has forced him to fight all of his life, always putting his friends in danger, as well as the world, and now this? I wouldn't be surprised if Sonic had half a mind in putting an end to the Doctor permanently.

I shake my head and blaze over the red path in Casino Night as I reconsider the thought. No, he wouldn't. No matter what, he wouldn't condone the death of an enemy unless absolutely necessary.

But I would.

The show business city turns into the rural landscape of my Zone, letting me know that we only have this Zone and the next two to get through before the confrontation.

I turn to Sonic and shout over the wind, "What's our plan for when we get there?" I ask because if it were up to me, I'd set the place ablaze after the rescue.

Sonic's voice is stiff as he responds, "We take everything as it comes along. Don't let your guard down. Eggman is taking things more seriously than he ever has."

I nod in agreement, turning to the quickly approaching Caves. Tails flies over while Sonic and I go through the collapsed rubble, my Bound relying on me to get through the dark at high velocity. Luckily Mystic Caves is pretty straightforward, and we end up out into this _hellhole_ of a Zone, Oil Ocean, again. Sighing through my nose and ignoring the reeking smell of oil, we go as fast as we can, trying not to slip over the slick man-made platforms of this Zone.

I can see the white spec in the sky representing Tails' plane a little ahead of us, but not for long, even with how slow we have to go through the oil. He's so determined to get to his mate, a feeling which I understand very well, but his mind isn't very clear right now. He'll end up doing something rash. I don't wish for both of them to end up hurt. It seems kids are always the ones to make the sacrifices…

Before I can get lost in my memories, a familiar factory appears in front of my vision. Almost menacing in its height, the grey structure looms with the insignia of the Doctor's smiling face at the very top. There are no robot sentries about, but why would there be? He knows we're coming. If anything, the trap will be inside.

I believe it would be best for Sonic and I to go inside on our own first and allow Tails to trail behind a bit, just in case anything does happen. I turn to relay the information to my partner and see that he's already reaching for the Wrist Communicator he managed to hold onto all of this time, telling his brother just that. _We're pretty in sync for this battle. I hope that comes in handy._

"Okay, Sonic. But I'm heading in as soon as I land. I'll come in quietly, though," I hear the communicator relay.

Sonic ends the link, and we walk into the vast factory, seeing a massive variety of pipes, framework, flashing lights, moving compressors, spinning discs, rotating mesh cylinders, and much more lining most of the walls. They seem worn down with time and use, going much slower yet still managing to power this building. Green is definitely the dominating color of this factory's interior design, with blue, grey, black, red, and garnet thrown into the mix.

The technology of this outer area isn't very cutting edge—it's more of a camouflage for what the Doctor really has hiding here. I turn to see the azure hedgehog next to me wearing a wry smile of nostalgia on his face, I can assume. Gesturing to follow me, I speak resignedly, "Follow me. I know where he's hidden in this twisting place."

Sonic nods, his emerald eyes projecting confidence and determination, but their inner depths I've grown so used to staring into show concern and hints of fear. He feels the eeriness that cloaks this place as well as I do.

Ignoring the pressurized air pipes lodged into the floors as well as the cylindrical tunnel of rotating mesh that hovers not far after, I come in contact with a smooth wall of green, nothing too special about it. I know this is the way to get down because it was the exit I took to get out the first time I awoke here. I stare at the wall for a moment, trying to figure out a way to get it to recede and open up.

Sonic taps his foot almost impatiently before asking, "What's so special about this wall?"

I don't answer as I finally see something different. The bolts that hold the metal together aren't all the same color. It's almost so imperceptible that I could've missed it had I not been looking. I hastily press all five of them in sequential order, and the wall pushes in and slides to the side, revealing an elevator that leads down.

Sonic's vibrant emeralds light up in awe, and he smiles in my direction. "Nice job, Shads!" He moves to my side, giving me a quick kiss before scurrying into the elevator and relaying the secret passage to Tails on his Com. Exhaling deeply to shake my sudden tension away, I get in beside him and the elevator closes automatically, going to the only other stop it has.

Taking Sonic's hand in mine one last time before the battle, I give it a squeeze and feel him return the gesture in kind.

The doors open to a very brief corridor before revealing pristine, sleek metal all over the place—technology much more advanced than that on the upper levels of this place. It doesn't take long to notice the large machine in the back: three spheres placed in the shape of an upside-down triangle. The one in the top left has a positive symbol on the top and a negative symbol on the bottom; the one adjacent to it has the same symbols only in reverse. The one on the bottom has positive and negative on the top while negative and positive mark the bottom. I suppose to showcase balance? That one is already filled with a girl with flowing green hair; her face is peaceful, as if in sleep. Her arms, legs, and torso are strapped in to insure no chance of escape.

The sound of growls fills the room as Sonic and I begin to display anger at the sight. My blue mate takes a step in her direction, and that's when many things happen. Three straight rows of ten circles reveal themselves and begin to open up, exposing the rising forms of robots similar to the ones we've fought through our journey. These are different in that they appear to have more build— _Can robots have that?—_ and their color scheme reminds me of that of the Doctor's attire.

He too makes an appearance in a detailed circular hover chair, floating above his army of creations with a smug smirk.

"Let her go, Eggman!" Sonic demands, immediately cutting straight to the chase.

The Doctor gives a slow chuckle. "Not a chance."

I growl furiously and speak with a deadly edge to my tone. "If you harm one hair on her head—"

"I'd worry more about yourselves, if I were you, hedgehogs," he cuts me off before I can finish my threat, and the idle robots immediately begin their assault. Fifteen against Sonic and fifteen against me.

The blow one lands to my jaw instantly tells me these are somehow stronger than their predecessors. I begin to parry strikes left and right, dealing my own when I can see an opening. Even with my natural enhanced strength and the power of the Emeralds, these machines are still giving me a challenge.

"You may be strong, but you're no challenge for the Ultimate Lifeform," I growl as I begin to strike harder, dodging in random patterns so the robots have less of a chance of landing a hit. Drawing my hands to my sides I ignite them in golden light and proceed to backflip away from a swing that drew to close.

"Chaos Sphere!" my voice resounds throughout the room as I hurl the destructive balls of power at my enemies, a maniacal flame dancing in my orbs as I watch a few of them attain devastating punctures before exploding in a show of defeat.

My enemy's numbers thin a bit which allows my mind to wander to Sonic. I have confidence in my mate's abilities to handle these machines without my interference for the moment. If they fall at the hands of _me_ then surely they won't gain the upper hand against him. My outward appearance displays no significant change as I continue my fight against these metal beings, but the swelling uneasiness that beings to leach its way into my thoughts attempts to draw my focus… pull it towards my blue one's direction—

" _Aaahh!"_

I spin to face him with wild eyes, not caring about the metallic beings that surround me, to see one of the cold beings land a blow to his muzzle with enough force for him to let his guard down. It then drives its fist rather deep into his stomach, forcing him onto his knees as he gives a pained shout.

The Doctor's cruel laughter sounds right after, his voice full of mirth when he speaks. "Too much for you to handle, pest? I thought you'd be able to deal with something as _easy_ as one of my schemes." His tone turns bitter in the end, but I pay no attention to his childish mocking at the next sight that greets me.

It will forever be burned into my memories, to haunt me in my dreams like the many traumas I've experienced in my short life.

Instead of standing up and getting back into battle like I know my hedgehog can, he ends up holding tighter to his abdomen as his ears lower and a distressed whine vibrates through his throat. Blood, red and thick, begins to form a small wet patch under him.

My heart lodges in my throat, and I make a move to get to him, damning all who try and stop me, but before I'm within arm's length, a single robot snatches him and vanishes into thin air.

 _3…_

My fists clench so tightly my arms literally shake from the sheer force. I turn slowly towards the Doctor, staring into the similar red eyes he likes to hide behind those shaded spectacles, with nothing but a promise of death in my stare.

"Where is he?" My voice is quiet but carries with no problem across the room. The remaining machines converge upon me, but they are nothing but specs of dirt under my shoes when it comes to matters of importance.

One of them lands a blow but promptly incinerates upon contact with my skin due to the high amounts of Chaos that is building up in my system and radiating from my form. Without even looking, I can see myself outlined in a white glow.

The Doctor's eyes widen for a moment before he speaks slowly, "Well, I have him, obviously, Shadow—"

 _2…_

I grit my teeth as the blind rage nearly erupts inside me. " _Where the fuck is he, Eggman!?"_ My outburst strengthens my Chaos, and the heat around me increases to dangerous degrees. The machines begin malfunctioning, their metal twisting sickeningly before combusting seconds later.

The Doctor seems to tremble slightly now, and this time he tries a different answer. "I-if you're worried about the bleeding, I h-had him taken to get looked at quickly b-before being placed into my machine. I don't want him _dead,_ just i-incapacitated."

 _1…_

My smirk is positively evil as I plan his end. _Time's up, Doctor._ "Wrong answer, Eggman. It should have been along the lines of 'I'm getting him for you right now.' Too bad. I _might_ have actually let you live."

The power that I unleash in a shockwave is like nothing I've ever felt before—absolutely tamed and yet uncontrollable in its wake. Lighting the room in a pure blinding white, it either singes or completely decimates anything in its path. I lock eyes with the Doctor, hoping to see bone-trembling terror in his eyes before he perishes in a pile of bones and ashes.

The deranged glee of triumph in his visage is the complete opposite of expected, an unspoken sign that I just fell into a trap.

 _Again._

My power hits some invisible barrier and comes barreling back towards me like a backlash out of Hell. There's nothing I can do to brace myself for the onslaught, and when it reaches me, I'm sure my cry of agony can be heard from many Zones afar.

The last things I hear before my last bit of consciousness leaves me are the Doctor's words: "Nothing will stop me, Shadow. Prepare for a life of enslavement in my Eggman Land."

~XxoOoxX~

Small tears gather in the young kit's eyes as he watches the pain his brother and his Chaos Bound go through. He'd arrived when they were just starting to fight the robots, and he would have joined them, but he'd promised to be backup, and they didn't look like they needed any help at the time.

That's when things started happening very quickly. Sonic got hit, blood leaking from him soon after, and he was just about out of the corridor when that robot vanished with his body. That's when Shadow went _ballistic_. He's never seen someone so furious and at the same time scared out of their mind. He knows that's where all the fury really came from: his fear for Sonic. He himself feels the same about Cosmo, but it's not in his nature to go crazy like that.

He thought for sure that they all were goners when Shadow sent that wave of Chaos energy through the room. Seeing its path of destruction and knowing what his powers can do once activated, the poor boy's life almost flashed before his eyes. Unfortunately— _fortunately?_ —Eggman had a trap that stopped the energy, but as a result Shadow got captured.

Tails wipes the tears from his eyes and looks at Cosmo's delicate form and the unconscious body of Shadow being strapped into the machine in the back of the room. _I'm the only one who's seen this and can still get away. I have to get help, h_ e realizes suddenly in desperation.

He turns just as the mad scientist begins to place the Chaos Emeralds in their designated place at the very top of the machine.

The voice addressing Tails freezes his already fearful heart cold. "I'll let you go for now, fox kid, but just know this: Nothing you do will stop me. I've thought of every possible scenario. You can't win."

Taking in his words, Tails continues to run, leaving behind his family, mate, and friend.

~XxX~

The X Tornado now soars through the dark warm night in transit to the only place where the fox can receive aide. _Knuckles and Rouge are the only people who can help me right now. I really hope there's something we can do,_ Tails thinks worriedly as he flies to the Island that's constantly moving but never too far away.

Seeing it through the clouds, the moon high up in the sky casting it in an ethereal glow, he lands as close to the Emerald shrine as he possibly can and gets out to continue on foot. His red-and-white shoes make tracks in the dirt as he runs through the jungle at a high velocity, his tails spinning rapidly behind him.

Knuckles stands at the altar with Rouge by his side, both with looks of defeat on their faces. Tails almost wants to ask if they know what happened but figures they already do. The Master Emerald is a powerful gem, after all.

Knuckles is the first to break the silence. "Eggman has succeeded. I knew I shouldn't have trusted them with this."

Tails bristles at his words, his heated retort filled to the brim with anger and sorrow. "Don't blame them for this! They tried everything they could to stop the prophecy! We didn't know Cosmo was a part of it until it was too late, and by then Eggman had pretty much beat us. Cosmo was unconscious… S-Sonic was bleeding… and Shadow was hurt badly by his own power. _So don't you dare go blaming this on Sonic and Shadow when you just sat up here and let it happen!"_

Knuckles looks taken aback and remorseful for his words at his omission.

"He's right, Knuckles. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to do anything to help my friends. Got any plans, kid?" Rouge speaks up with determination as she gazes at the young fox.

Tails looks down in regret at his next words. "I can't think of anything. E-Eggman said he thought of every possible scenario. That we couldn't win."

Rouge puts a hand on her hip in defiance. "When have we ever believed him?"

"The kid might not have an idea," Knuckles' deeper voice interrupts. "But I do."

Turning to look at her mate in approval, she asks, "So let's hear it."

"The only way to stop him is to bring the Master Emerald back to its original shrine in Hidden Palace Zone so that we can stop the Emeralds' power."

Feeling confused as he looks around the current shrine they're standing in, Tails asks, "What's wrong with the altar here?"

Knuckles knowledgeably explains, "In Hidden Palace, where the Master originally rested, its power is most amplified. This shrine here was mostly just for show so that people who attempted to use the Master for evil purposes would only gain a portion of its power. We need the most power we can get, since Eggman will be using the three powers in tandem with the Emeralds. Once we stop their power, Eggman's control will be greatly weakened, and then we can make our move."

This all seems to make sense to the genius child as well as the female bat standing next to the echidna. The bat girl smiles as she lays a kiss on his cheek. "Well done, Knux! I knew there was a reason I chose you as my mate."

He huffs and crosses his arms while a small flush forms on his muzzle. "You didn't choose me. It was destiny."

She begins to walk off while nodding. "Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that. I'm going to go spy on Eggman, see how things are going down there."

Before she can take off, Tails calls out to her, "Wait!" He rushes to his plane to grab a Wrist Com. and quickly makes his way back to hand it to her. "Take this with you so that you can tell us how things are going down there."

She nods and straps it on to her wrist, the color clashing with the white and pink of her glove. "Sure thing. See ya, boys!" With a spread to her violet wings, she takes off in the air, heading to the lower levels of Mobius.

Tails turns to Knuckles and offers a suggestion to their next phase of the plan. "The fastest way to get there would be to fly, but, umm… we can't use the plane in X Tornado mode."

Knuckles looks bothered by this. "And why is that?"

Going into techno geeky explanation mode, the kid genius begins to explain, "Well, obviously with the high speeds in which we would travel at, there'd be no way you could stand on the plane while holding onto such a large gem and not go flying off. But with just the Tornado, you can sit in the back seat and hold onto the Emerald without worry of speed causing you to lose your grip. Was that easy enough to understand?"

Knuckles looks down and kicks a stray stone lightly as he mumbles, "Yes."

"Good. Now grab that Emerald and let's go!" the sunset orange fox exclaims as he simply flies down the steep steps towards his beloved aircraft given to him by his brother.

Knuckles follows right behind him, Master Emerald in hand with ease, and waits on the transformation to take place so that he can hop in and their small journey can begin. Tails activates the shift and feels the weight of Knuckles and his Emerald land in the backseat before he starts the plane.

He brings them into the air smoothly before saying quietly to himself, "I really hope this works out."

* * *

Thanks for reading ;)


	15. Stregthen Your Defenses

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~15~**

 **-Strengthen Your Defenses-**

A large flying airship slowly rises from the depths of Metropolis Zone, red, black, yellow, and silver in color. A large glass dome covers the large cockpit, and looking through it one can see the large machine that Sonic, Shadow, and Cosmo are locked in on the back wall paneling and the aspiring world dominator sitting at the controls of the craft.

"Hehehe! Finally, my ambitions will be realized. Eggman Land will finally come to pass! And it all starts with a push of a button." Dr. Eggman's gloved finger pushes a glowing red button, activating his hard worked-on creation, each circle beginning to glow faintly with the individual's unique aura: Sonic's blue with a hint of gold, Shadow's a reflection of his Chaos Bound's, and Cosmo's a vibrant green.

Next the Chaos Emeralds begin to glow as they become active, so that the power from the three prophesized can be spread further and made even stronger.

Pushing forward on the gas to make the engines go full throttle, Eggman smirks as he soars across Oil Ocean, expecting to see some type of army start to form. A frown grows upon his face after a few minutes pass and nothing seems to happen.

" _Grrr_! Why is nothing happening? I've done everything the prophecy said. Something should occur!" he exclaims as the vast amounts of oil from the ocean change into the large mountain that houses Mystic Caves. Upon closer inspection, he begins to see a crowd starting to take shape at the very end of Hill Top Zone.

Rising with the early morning sun, the army seems to grow from the grass and plants themselves. Looking like menacing humanoids, they vary in shape and size, and yet each has the same defining features: brown limbs, grassy green armor like clothing, and vacant black eyes.

They stand to attention as if awaiting the Doctor's orders. With feelings of victorious achievement, Dr. Eggman gives a triumphant smile before addressing his soldiers. "My evil minions! You have one task and one task alone. Help me, your leader, Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik, gain control over this planet."

The rows of artificial beings seem to understand the order and about-face in order to begin moving. Eggman watches as they start to progress ahead to populated portions of the Zone—and that's when the screams begin.

Smiling wickedly, he follows behind to see exactly what his minions are accomplishing.

Mobians are scattering everywhere like roaches, attempting to get away from the horrifying monsters. These creatures are fast and strong, wielding the powers of the two strongest Mobians of the planet. So unlike the insects, they have no chance of getting away.

The controlled underlings begin to grab everyone in sight, whether they're elderly, adult, or the size of a child.

Deep, monotone voices begin to speak, loudly and clearly so that everyone in possession will understand what is being spoken. "You are now under the authority of your new leader, Dr. Eggman. Surrender now and comply—otherwise, you shall be eliminated."

Eggman strokes his beard and nods his head slowly as he thinks, _Yes. Clear, concise, and to the point. I like it._

This, of course, is when defiance decides to rear its ugly head and a male bear manages to break free from the grip of one of the plant-like soldiers. "I'm not bowing down to that egg-shaped man! He can go to Hell for all I—" His gruff voice changes abruptly into that of a strangled scream, then sickly gurgles as blood begins to construct his airways.

As he looks at his chest, a claw-like brown hand glowing with a white aura and dripping of warm, wet blood travels through his back and out of his front. A little girl, bear in form, begins to scream and holler at the sight, causing her mother to try and shush her from the arms of her captor, though the unmistakable tears that leak from her eyes don't go unnoticed.

"Does anyone wish to object again?" The question is emotionless, as if they do not care whether they have to kill more people or not.

No one makes a sound in fear for their lives. This is when Eggman decides to make himself noticed. "I'm glad you all agree. My minions can be a bit… _ruthless,_ as you've all noticed. Now that we've got all the introductions out of the way, let's get down to business. You all will begin work on building Eggman Land alongside my robots! Any objections will lead to the same ending your fellow friend over there had."

All the Mobians look up at the sound of his voice, gaping in shock at his words. A brave elderly cat speaks up to voice her concern, "B-but what about the old and the y-young?"

A minion moves to put an end to her life, but Eggman hastily speaks up before it can. "That's not necessary, my good underling. That is a good question. I suppose they could be put on food duty. Plenty more Mobians will be starting on this project soon enough." Not waiting for any more questions, he presses a different button on his dashboard, releasing a vast amount of robots from the bottom of his ship.

They all set out to designated places, a few even beginning to distribute uniforms. Eggman takes off from this Zone in the direction of the next, leaving his minions to take care of things there while creating new ones along the way.

He gives a hooting laugh at how smoothly things went without so much as a hint of resistance from a formidable foe. _Things are finally falling into place,_ he thinks with triumph as he enters into the next Zone, the screams of the many Mobians music to his ears.

~XxoOoxX~

Every inch of my body aches relentlessly, but I'm just relieved I even regained consciousness at all. I feel metal constricting my wrists, ankles, and waist and allow the knowledge of my capture to finally sink in. Even with my severe soreness, I still begin to struggle against my bindings, refusing to be his prisoner for life.

I snap my crimson eyes open to see that the sun shines brightly through the glass of the apparent airship the Doctor is traveling in. Eggman himself is sitting there, laughing like a maniac as he watches something unfold, and my ears pick up the sound of… screams?

If there's screaming, that means… I quickly look over to my right to see Sonic locked in his designated space, his head hanging low, but his eyes are clearly open.

Struggling hard, I begin to call his name, "Sonic! Sonic! _Hedgehog!_ Look at me!" Not even a twitch. He doesn't acknowledge me at all, simply gazing down, lost.

"Quiet back there, you pest!" the Doctor suddenly exclaims at my apparently rude interruption to his sadistic enjoyment.

" _Fuck you_!" I shout in his direction, in no way in the mood to deal with the bastard right now.

I look more closely at my mate and note that some of the fur on his legs has more of a red tinge to it from the blood he lost, but luckily he doesn't appear to be in any physical pain anymore. _I don't know what's wrong with you, Sonic, but I'm going to get us out of here. I promise you._

Testing my bounds again, I realize that they're enhanced by the power of the Emeralds I can feel are right above me. If they weren't bound to the will of the Doctor right now, this whole situation wouldn't even be a problem. For now, though, they'd have to be deactivated in order for me to make any kind of move to escape.

 _Damn…_

Refusing to give up, I continue to pull and tug my arms and legs in a fruitless hope of getting free by chance.

~XxoOoxX~

 _What happened to me? I should have been able to fight those bots with the best of 'em! But…_

A shiver goes down his spine as he recalls the moment he took that hit, completely ignoring Eggman and even Shadow's insistent calls to him.

 _That one got a lucky shot on me, and then he hit me in the s-stomach. That, of course, usually hurts enough to knock the wind out of you, but this time was so much worse. There were sharp pains I've never felt before, and what about that blood?_

His ears twitch and lower for a brief moment when he remembers realizing he was bleeding. _That's such an odd reaction. Did they hit some type of internal organ or something? Then they took me to that small silver medical room and did some weird stuff. I wish I could have been conscious enough to pay attention._

His almost dull emerald eyes look out of the large glass dome to see many Mobians suffering, probably wondering where their world savior is, and he can't do a thing to help them.

Looking back down and finally letting his true emotions wash over him without a buffer, his eyes shut tightly as twin trails of tears track down his muzzle.

 _Why do I feel so empty now?_

~XxoOoxX~

 _This is one of the rare few times I wish I had a fast plane like that kid._ _It's been hours since I left that island._ The innocent sunshine that dances across the terrain would have anyone believing that today is like any other.

But it isn't.

I've had to utilize every skill I possess as a spy just to stay out of sight of those creepy wooden humanoids. They're after every living, breathing thing they can get their hands on, even the little kids, and putting them under the control of Eggman. Anyone who resists will be murdered on the spot. I've had to watch one person from Hill Top be brutally killed, and when the Doctor reached Casino Night there was a mini mob of people who thought they could fight back.

Their bodies now lie in a dismantled mess, reeking of blood and death.

I can't believe the Doctor is willing to take it this far just to get his dream Utopia. _Killing people?_ I never would have thought he would sink so low…

Giving a heavy sigh at the devastation, I lift the binoculars I snagged from a house I happened to hide in for a moment—it really was a lucky find—and try to see if I can get a visual on my captured friends from the highest tree in Aquatic Ruin I could find.

I see the smiling face of Eggman perfectly and feel repulsion rise in me at the sight of him. Quickly moving on, I look a bit further in and catch the sight of a machine with three circles in the shape of an upside-down triangle.

I bring my wrist closer to my mouth so that I can talk to Tails while still looking at the forms of Cosmo, Shadow, and Sonic. "Kid, you there? I've got an… update for you."

It doesn't take him long to respond, his voice sounding worried at my hesitance. "Yeah, Rouge. What's happening?"

"Things aren't good. Eggman's army is pretty brutal. They've killed plenty of people already. He's getting everyone to work on 'Eggman Land,' making the elderly and kids make the food for everyone," I explain in clear statements.

"That's… horrible. We have to stop him," the boy almost whispers. "Any signs of where Cosmo, Sonic, and Shadow are?"

"I'm looking at them right now," I breathe softly into the Communicator, my heart sinking at their individual statuses.

"Really? H-how are they?" He sounds almost afraid to ask.

I lay my eyes on the ruffled and matted fur of Shadow as he struggles in vain against his bindings, absolutely refusing to give up against the odds. "Shadow is still fighting… Cosmo looks a little afraid, but okay otherwise. Sonic…" I stop here as I gaze at his sagging form.

"Sonic is… he looks almost in a daze. He looks defeated."

~XxoOoxX~

 _Defeated?_ The orange fox has a hard time believing that his brother can actually be defeated. There's just no possible way.

"Just, umm… just keep me updated, Rouge, okay?" he eventually responds in a soft tone.

"Will do." The link goes dead, and he returns his attention to the skies in front of him, frustrated at his lack of progress right now. _Why does this island have to be so big?_ he thinks with a hint of exasperation.

"Eggman's doing a lot of damage, huh?" Knuckles replies to the front seat passenger.

"You heard all of that?" Tails asks in surprise, nearly running into a mushroom tree in his moment of lost focus.

"Despite popular belief, I do have ears, ya know, or else we wouldn't be having this conversation," he snaps in an annoyed baritone.

"Hehe, yeah. Sorry. It's just, I can't believe how bad things are turning out. I mean, people are _dying_. All because Eggman wants to take over the world."

"Look, Tails, I understand how bad the situation is, but we don't have time to worry about that right now. We have to focus on stopping the Emeralds before we can even begin to start formulating a plan on how to fix what Eggman has done," the red echidna explains with surprising depth.

Tails nods slowly, the wind blowing his bangs and fur around gently. "You're right, Knuckles. I'll stay focused on the task at hand."

It takes far longer than the kitsune would have liked to get to Sandopolis Zone, the sun now hanging low in the sky, casting everything in an orange tinge. Upon reaching the vast amounts of sand and hidden quicksand, an important question occurs to him. "Say, Knuckles? You got any one of those hidden passageways we can use to get to Hidden Palace from here?"

"Uhh… no?" He sounds rather sheepish in his response.

Tails nearly turns around in his seat when he responds in incredulity, " _What?"_

"Hey, don't blame it on me, kid! My people didn't want anyone to stumble upon some easier way to get to the Master Emerald, so they make everyone have to go through the trials of Sandopolis and Lava Reef Zone if they really want to get to the Emerald so badly."

Speaking through clenched teeth, Tails asks, "So you're saying we have to go through both of those Zones?"

The echidna, now hiding his face behind the large Emerald he's holding, almost timidly states, "No, just the deeper levers of Sandopolis, depending on how close you can land us to that entrance and… all of Lava Reef."

" _Urrgh!_ " Now feeling his frustrations get the best of him, Tails looks for a place to land that's closest to the point where he can remember Sonic and he going into the creepier parts of Sandopolis.

The place is so immense and filled with blinding golden color that it's nearly impossible to tell anything apart. Flying a little lower, he can finally make out the familiar landscape and lands as gently as he can on the soft, gritty sand.

Tails gets out of his biplane and hears Knuckles' footfalls land behind him. "Okay, kid, I'll take the lead from here."

The kit nods as they both step into the quicksand, feeling the odd sense of panic that follows when you believe you're about to be suffocated before they pass through with a calmed sigh. Following behind the Emerald-carrying echidna, they reach the pyramid-stacked, sand-made bricks.

The door lowers when they reach it, and Knuckles steps in it with no hesitance; Tails, on the other hand, follows with a bit more hesitance, remembering the ghosts that live down there.

Darkness blinds them momentarily before the dark, dank inside of the pyramid is revealed to them. Instantly, three white ghosts begin diving for them, trying to impose harm. "AAAHH! GHOSTS!" Tails hollers, hiding behind the intimidating-looking echidna in hopes that they'll stay back.

One attempted to hit them again, resulting in Knuckles' strained voice piercing the air. "Hit the light switch, will ya, kid? They're not going to go away until you do."

His little form shivering, tails lowered in fear, he quickly runs to the hanging switch and pulls it hard, mentally willing it to stay on forever instead of slowly dying away, driving his anxiety into a tizzy.

"Come on. No use standing here all day," Knuckles comments as he starts to trek forward through the booby-trapped pyramid.

Tails admittedly hides behind Knuckles the whole time and jumps at even the slightest sound. He only moves from his place when a switch of some kind needs to be pulled or pushed.

"Come on, Tails. You have to hold the switch open until I get through. You can do that," the echidna tries to encourage the frightened fox, still carrying the large Emerald in his hands.

The genius of a fox looks around warily with crystal blue eyes. Things seem okay at the moment to him, but one can never let one's guard down in this place. Tails pushes the black door switch all the way to the end and holds it there as steadily as he can, hearing the clicks of protest it makes for not being allowed to move back in its place.

Knuckles, with surprising dexterity, manages to jump high enough with the Master still in his hands up into the wide opening Tails makes for him. The lights dim.

Whimpering in fear, the fox twists his white-tipped tails to hurriedly fly in after the moving echidna. The lights get duller. And that's when he realizes he forgot to pull the light switch before coming in to the opening.

" _Oh, no…"_ he moans in horrid dismay to himself. He considers going back to pull it, seeing the solid sand door only a quarter of the way closed. Knuckles continues walking forward, not noticing Tails' lack of following, which makes the kitsune even more frightful. The room is nearly covered in darkness.

Taking a chance, he dashes out and _yanks_ on the switch, bathing the room back in glorious light. He then uses his tails to help propel him through the door that's nearly three quarters of the way closed.

Knuckles takes a look over his shoulder at the shivering, out-of-breath preteen. "Don't fall behind, kid. This place is full of traps and crazy loops, as you know. Don't want you to get left behind in here."

The very thought puts all of the fur on the fox's body on end, and he rushes back to his appointed place behind the echidna.

* * *

There's only two more chapters left! Wow...

Thanks for reading ;)


	16. The Tides Are Turning

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~16~**

 **-The Tides Are Turning-**

Relief is not a strong enough word to describe the feeling Tails experiences the moment his feet touch the rounded light brown rocks of Lava Reef Zone. Fond memories of fun and explorations of the subterranean volcanic caves begin to cloud his mind as they start to traverse their way through the spacious areas with more ease about them.

"It won't be long, kid. We should talk about what happens when the Chaos Emeralds are stopped," the gruff voice of the older echidna asks.

Tails looks up, his ears softly twitching as the sound of lava bubbling and popping surrounds them. "Uh, yeah! We know that once the Chaos Emeralds become deactivated, Eggman's army will be significantly weakened, but the prophecy stated that they were 'undefeated.' There has to be a reason for that. The Chaos Emeralds only made them stronger, but they're still supposedly undefeatable. Maybe just separating the three powers will stop them…?" he ponders out loud, trying to form a solid solution to the problem. "I mean, despite how much he's changed he's still _Eggman_. That could be the chink in his plan."

Knuckles looks over his shoulder at the kitsune with a slightly befuddled expression, nearly tripping over the grounded rocks into a pit of lava; the Master Emerald never once falters in his hands, though. Regaining his footing, he answers as if he didn't just act like a klutz even though Tails didn't see a thing, too lost in his calculating thoughts. "Yeah, well, we can just tell Rouge to intervene when the Emeralds stop until we get there. That's about all I can think of for now."

The twin-tailed fox looks up vaguely, hopping nimbly over a protruding rock with hardly any awareness, making the echidna grumble to himself in jealously. "I guess…. I still think we're missing something here." Noticing the darkening surroundings with an inkling of a smile, he lifts his Wrist Com. up to his lips as he contacts the albino bat. "Got any news, Rouge?"

It takes a second for her image to appear, but when it does she looks solemn. "Hey, Tails. Things are progressing, I guess I can say." Her naturally sultry voice holds a tinge of worry.

The fox's brows lower in concern. "How so?"

"He's moved through all the Zones of Westside Island. Everyone's been captured. He's begun work on Eggman Land. I've only managed to avoid detection by hiding in the houses that have already been searched, but I don't know how long that's going to last…" she explains the facts in a clean cut manner, displaying her unwavering will to not give up in this battle, even against the odds.

Tails gives her a weak smile, fearing for the safety of yet another one of his friends. "W-well, just be careful out there, Rouge. Knuckles and I came up with a plan. A shaky one, but it's all we've got right now. We're almost to Hidden Palace, and once the Chaos Emeralds are deactivated we were thinking maybe you could sneak aboard Eggman's ship to try and help everyone out. Maybe separating the Powers will stop the army."

The alluring bat nods in consent, willing to do anything to stop the madman from succeeding in his heinous plans. "Will do, kiddo. The sun's just starting to set, which will make things a whole lot easier. I'm off. Tell Knucklehead not to louse things up." This is interrupted by, "I heard that!" from the echidna himself, causing Rouge to giggle fondly into her hand. She continues with, "Talk to you later!" before the link ends.

The sunset orange fox lowers his wrist with a silent wish for her to be all right before looking up and marveling at the blue icy crystals of the world around them, such an amazing contrast to the lava and heat they were in previously. The architecture of the place is so unique and dangerous, and yet somehow it still adds to the beauty of the Zone.

"We're going to win this, kid. Don't worry about it too hard," Knuckles tries to console as they move ever so closer to the hidden Zone.

Tails looks down in rising doubt, feeling a dreadful sense of unease slowly creeping up in his senses. "Yeah. I hope so."

~XxoOoxX~

I sniff softly, forcing my volatile emotions deep inside as I finally give proper notice to the things around me. I manage to bring my eyes over to gaze at my determined mate. Teeth bared in anger at the situation we're in, my bio-hog of a significant other gives another pull to his restraints despite his obvious wary appearance. Speaking in a soft yet firm tone, I finally address Shadow. "You might want to save your strength for later, Shads."

His head snaps in my directions so fast I'm surprised he doesn't develop whiplash. His eyes widen significantly in concern for me as he begins to express his worry. "Sonic? Don't make me worry like that again! I wasn't sure if you were okay when you didn't respond…"

I accomplish a small smile somehow as I explain, "I just… just needed some time to sort things out. We'll get out of here in no time. Trust me." I can hardly decipher the driving force that's usually present in my voice in these situations, only a dull sense of defeat dampening my emotions. Eggman's rude scoff that follows doesn't help matters either.

"Believe what you want, vile pest. You're going to be here for a long time. But I guess you will need something to have faith in, I suppose," he adds condescendingly with a chortle.

I hear the menacing growl forming in Shadow's chest without even having to stare at the blind fury in his hellish eyes. I successfully intervene, not wanting him to expend such energy on a wasteful cause. "Don't mind him, Shadow. When we crack his plans wide open, he'll get what's coming to him."

When Eggman seemingly ignores me, I hear the velvety voice of my Bound answer instead. "You're right. Besides, we have friends out there who are guaranteed to know what's going on."

 _Friends out there…?_ Those words seem to dredge up something very important that I should have remembered earlier, and without warning my entire visage shifts to an eerie calm, just waiting to strike if the wrong thing is said. "Where is he, Eggman?'

He seems bored when he responds, completely oblivious to the hell I'll put him through if I find out that he did something… _If his fur is so much as ruffled the wrong way—!_

"I don't know what you're talking about, pest."

" _My brother!_ Where is Tails!?" I snap, not the least bit about to put up with his selfish ignorance.

He actually looks back at me for a second instead of at the horrible construction taking place outside of the flying airship. "I don't have him." His answer is simple and careless.

My response, in turn, is straightforward and harsh. "Don't lie to me, Eggman!"

He raises an eyebrow at my attitude, turning slowly back to his so far succeeding plans at hand. "I'm not. I let him get away for now. He thinks he can come up with some plan to stop me. In due time, he'll be a part of my slaves, along with the rest of your friends."

I growl softly under my breath, having a hard time believing him. I turn to look at Shadow, whose eyes display a similar disbelief. When his silky-smooth lips open in preparation to speak, we both hear a faint sniff. Our eyes look down at the third circle on this contraption where Cosmo's located, although from this point of view, it's impossible to see her.

"Cosmo, you alright? Sorry you had to hear me like that…" I apologize in shame for acting in such a way around a little girl.

"I'm f-fine, Sonic. It's not that, it's just…" she trails off in a hopeless voice, another sniff following suit.

"Then what is the matter?" Shadow asks gently in an almost nurturing manner, causing my lips to curve slightly in appreciation. _He acts so tough, but he's really great with kids…_

"I-it's all my fault that this happened! I should have let you guys know what was going on. Then maybe you could have been better prepared!" she admits in a heartbreaking tone, putting herself down for her actions.

"That's not true. You are not at fault here. You did what you thought was right, and no one can blame you for that. The Doctor is the only one to blame here for putting you in such a position." If I could, I would kiss Shadow right now. He's saying all the right things to make her most likely feel better. Such a sensitive hidden center my hedgie has.

"Thanks, Shadow, but it's not just that. It's the plants. T-they—" she breaks off in audible tears, making my heart go out to her.

"What do you mean?"

"They're hurting! They're in pain, doing things they don't wish to, all because Eggman's f-forcing them!" she cries, her inner spirit not broken but severely tested.

I decide to speak up, understanding her feelings of anger against Eggman's injustice on an inner level even I can't begin to explain. "We'll stop him, Cosmo. The plants won't have to suffer forever. I promise," I tell her genuinely in hopes of easing her pain.

I hear her sniffle once more before I pick up the grateful tone in her voice. "Thank you, Sonic."

A small smile crosses my face when I answer, "No problem."

~XxoOoxX~

 _Those fools don't know what they're talking about,_ the Doctor thinks with a roll of his eyes. _No matter. When my main base is built, I'll have them placed where I won't have to hear any more of their drivel and I can concentrate more on my world domination!_ His face is marred with an insane smile, his eyes focusing on the metal structures that are slowly being modeled, not yet taking shape.

 _And that kitsune. Ha! He probably thinks using the Master Emerald will help save his little friends…._ The lights reflect off of his monocles as he shifts his gaze. _Well, I have news for him. Not everything can be saved._

~XxoOoxX~

"We're not too far off. We'll be helping them in no time," the red-furred echidna calls out as the two walk through a spacious corridor, the many light blue rocks and crystals shining and reflecting along the walls of their path.

Startling out of his thoughts, the kit looks up at his friend and gives a slow nod in pacification. His thoughts, however, are deeply troubled. _Something just doesn't seem right. . . . It's all been so easy._ They continue forward when an unnatural feeling begins to creep up into his veins, causing every fur on his body to stand on end. _Wait, didn't Eggman say—_

 _ **"**_ _I'll let you go for now, fox kid, but just know this. Nothing you do will stop me. I've thought of every possible scenario. You can't win."_

He thrusts his hand out in front of him in desperation, giving a frightened call, " _Knuckles, wait!"_

It's too late, though. The echidna steps further into the corridor and suddenly falls through the floor as it gives way under his feet. His startled cries echo as he and the Master Emerald fall to what is supposedly their doom.

"NOOO!" Tails screams as he rushes to the broken floor; however, chaos begins to ensue when flying bots swarm the passage, shooting lasers at his trembling form.

 _Oh no, oh no, oh no!_ he thinks in a frenzy, dodging as many of the beams as he can, twirling his tails as he takes off in the air, moving forward and away from where his friend once stood with the machines hot on his tails.

He gives a sniff at the thought of leaving him behind, but right now he needs to survive if there's any hope of them getting out alive—if Knuckles isn't already dead, that is. A green laser shoots past his face, nearly singeing his fur and urging him to perform more aerial maneuvers. All too quickly, though, he realizes just how dangerous having lasers shot in such a place can be.

They start to pass through the crystals, which refract them from all angles, making it much harder to avoid being hit. _I need to take this to a more open area or I'm done for,_ he thinks, taking a look back at the mass of flying little silver little bots shooting beams way too frequently for his tastes.

His cerulean eyes notice the large moving silver cubic platforms ahead, and an idea develops in his head. _Okay, I'll only have one shot at this. I hope this works._ Picking up the pace, he takes cover behind the moving block, making sure to stay with it. Quickly activating a mechanism on his personal Wrist Com., he aims a yellow laser beam at a crystal above where the bots are heading, creating multiple beams that impact with many of the bots.

Most of them explode while others set fire, flying in random trajectories, hitting and damaging other bots that weren't damaged by the initial lasers. A massive dent is put in the number of robots thanks to his ingenious idea. _Yes!_ he internally cheers before flying ahead and taking note of the scenery in hopes of finding another way to take out the rest of the metal creations.

Elsewhere, Knuckles is having an entirely different problem. Having fallen through the floor unexpectedly, he had to think quickly; otherwise he'd end up skewered by a pit of deadly gleaming spikes. Suddenly feeling grateful for the crystal-covered wall he's falling near, his spiked fist shoots out, imbedding into it with fierce strength to halt his descent. His other arm keeps the Master Emerald grasped precariously, but for only so long.

Looking around for some kind of assistance, he notes one of the many moving platforms of this Zone just in jumping range. Bracing his red-and-yellow shoes against the rock wall, he takes a leap of faith, landing just barely on the platform.

" _Phew_. That could have turned out deadly," he mutters to himself, placing the Master on the ground for a moment to wipe off his forehead from nervous sweat. Looking up, he realizes that unfortunately he won't be able to climb back up, so the fox boy is on his own for now. "I really hope Tails will be fine. I'll meet him at the entrance to Hidden Palace." He picks the Emerald back up to continue on with his trek.

"That is, unless he thinks I'm dead. That'll make things a lot more complicated…" he notes with a hint of worry as his feet click against the ground lightly. The quietness of the vast corridors, once calm and peaceful, now seems a bit unnerving to the usually oblivious echidna.

Giving an angry snarl as he looks around for anything suspicious, he snaps out to the open, "That bastard just doesn't give up, does he?" Expecting something to jump out at him, his muscled form stays tense as he moves along the maze-like structure of the Zone.

Everything seems to startle him as his paranoia rises. Shadows are large robots waiting to crush him; the sound of the large vertical spinning drums is an army of machines ready to rip him limb from limb. When a laser shoots directly towards the Master Emerald in his grasp, his paranoia comes in handy as he jumps out of the way in time to avoid the Emerald shattering.

Looking up with fiery amethyst eyes, he pierces the hovering silver bots with his glare, ready for any other attacks they have up their sleeves. It all becomes a game to them from there. Their goal: shatter the Master Emerald.

With all the skills he possesses as a guardian, he begins to elude the bots, since trying to attack would just lead to one of them hitting their mark while his defenses are open. Sweating from having to maneuver around so quickly with such a large gem, he tries to think of someway, _any way,_ to get the robots off his tail or, better yet, destroyed.

 _If I had that kid with me, coming up with something would be so much easier,_ he thinks in frustration at his lack of tactical planning. Seeing a familiar path come up ahead, his mind actually begins to come up with something, much to his delight.

"Ha-ha! You bots have overstayed your welcome. Time to meet your maker!" His eyes widen in horror after that, and he exaggeratedly begins to gag. "Yuk! Was that one of _Eggman's_ lines?" A near blast to his glowing green gem brings back his focus and the plan at hand.

Seeing a dancing flame leave the flamethrower on the roof then retreat for a moment, he takes his opportunity to head under unscathed, hearing the sounds of twisting metal followed by explosions as the creations come in contact with the fire.

"Woohoo! Take that, robos!" he calls out while looking behind him, the sight of only a few left giving him a feeling of triumph. Up ahead is a silver cubic box moving up and down like some kind of crusher, the plan to use that to take out the last machines already developing in his head.

Running up and down the curved silver piping along the floor, he times it just right to where he and his Emerald just make it before the box moves down to forcefully smash them. The bots aren't so lucky, fortunately. Giving a smug smirk, he chuckles and picks up the pace as he continues along the twisting passages, knowing he's just about at the entrance to Hidden Palace.

Halting in his tracks, he sees it up ahead: the long glide to the mint green steps leading towards their goal, as well as the slightly battered sight of Tails making his way up those very same steps. Cupping a hand to his muzzle, he yells for the kitsune to hear, "Yo, Tails!"

The large, furry orange ears perk, and he looks directly in the echidna's direction, his face lighting up in relief as he begins to fly to his side. "I thought you'd gotten hurt or worse!" the kid exclaims as soon as he's next to his friend.

Raising a large hand to place on the kit's shoulder, Knuckles tells him confidently, "Nah, you should know me better than that. Now are we going to do this or what?"

The twin-tailed fox smiles determinedly and helps his friend carry the gem over the large distance until they reach the flat surface. Moving quickly, they descend the next set of steps they come across; the quiet, subdued ambiance of the vast darkness in the background with only a few rocks visible in a blue light accompanies them along the way. The architecture of this entire area is untouched by anything the Doctor did in the past, completely that of the ancient echidnas.

It's not long before they reach the shrine, sacred and untouched for many years. Knuckles immediately moves to place the Master in its place, seeing it become even more vibrant without even a word being spoken from him yet.

"Okay, I'm going to start the chant. Get ready to contact Rouge and tell her about the Emeralds when I'm done," Knuckles informs Tails as he takes his stance, hands raised high in the air like he's praising it as a god.

Tails nods and stands back, watching the show unfold with wary blue eyes. He took a few hits towards the end, so he's a bit banged up, but his attention is more focused on how easy it was. Yeah, the Doctor sent robots, but that seemed more like a front for something more underhanded. _But what?_

" _The servers are the seven Chaos… Our hearts intensify their power… The controller servers to unify the Chaos!"_ A near-blinding green aura forms around the Master Emerald as the red guardian chants an ancient prayer.

The glow of the Emerald reflects in Tails' eyes, giving them an almost unnatural glow as he gazes at it in concentration. _This is—_ His thoughts are interrupted by the soft, very faint sound of a hum made by a machine that only his heightened sense would be able to pick up with all the commotion going on.

— _too easy._ Looking at the stealth bot that revealed itself, the laser on its silver husk aimed straight at the Emerald, he can't help but think that this is what Eggman had planned all along. Give them hope then crush it under his shiny black boots like it was nothing more than an annoying bug meant to be destroyed.

Thinking fast, because there is no way they'd be able to get the gem out of the way before that laser fires, he activates something he thought would be totally useless to install on his Wrist Com. and dives right into the trajectory of the fired shot.

The laser connects, hitting his reflective mirror, and heads straight towards the creation itself, destroying it on contact. With a painful grunt, the kid genius lands on the ground with a tired smile. His body is worn out and beaten, but if they can save everyone, it's totally worth it.

Knuckles, completely into his chant, hasn't noticed a thing that's transpired, only increasing the passion of his words as he offers his plea. _"Only you can do this, Master Emerald! Stop the Chaos Emeralds!"_ An explosion of power is followed after these words as the Emerald works to grant his wish, sending a tingle down their spines, allowing even them to sense it—even though they're not completely adept to sensing Chaos energy.

Giving a few more pulses, the Emerald finally settles down to its magnificent glow, as if grateful to be set back in its rightful resting place. Knuckles turns around with his mouth open to say something particularly smug only to close it in confusion when he doesn't see anyone. Looking around, he finally notices his friend lying on the ground and charred bits of metal not too far off. A question mark appears over his head as he begins to interrogate the kit, whose raised hand interrupts him.

"Some things just don't need explaining," Tails says, suddenly understanding his brother's earlier words.

"Okay, then," he mumbles and helps his friend to his feet before continuing. "We should call Rouge and give her the warning."

A nod from the fox is his answer. Lifting up his creation, he waits for Rouge's face to appear and is surprised by the look of worry covering her face. "Rouge, what's going on?" he demands immediately, so unused to her openly displaying emotions.

She looks dead into his eyes and says with a critical tone, "All hell's breaking loose… and your brother's the center of it."

* * *

Tails and Knuckles, the dynamic duo! How will things play out in the last chapter of Chaos Bound? Find out next week~

Thank you guys so much for sticking with me this long! We're almost there!


	17. Deny, Deny, Deny

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They all belong to SEGA.

The story, however, belongs to me.

Story Beta Read by: Pepper1622

* * *

 **~17~**

 **-Deny, Deny, _Deny-_**

I've been feeling weak and tired all day since I awoke from my capture, which is weird because I've been strapped to this machine, pretty much motionless since. Feeling my eyes close in exhaustion for the hundredth time, I decide to see this as an opportunity to at least get some rest. It's oddly quiet, with only Eggman's almost insane chuckles puncturing the silence every once in a while.

I try to fully relax into the restraints and begin to breathe deeply.

In… out… inhale… exhale…

Like this I can sense Shadow's energy moving in a strange way, almost in time with my breaths. The warm, hectic energy spliced with a bit of my own pulls in towards his center tightly before moving out gradually towards the edges of his body. Maybe it's some kind of exercise to strengthen his control over his energy? I don't really know, but I just let it soothe me into a semi-unconscious state.

Compress… expand… compress—

An intense wave of Chaos flows through the room unexpectedly, and in an instant Shadow's energy is no longer calm and peaceful, shifting into deadly and volatile as the sound of breaking metal reaches my ears. I peel open my eyes to look at his form standing completely erect on the metallic ground, his muscles rigid in preparation for attack.

This all happens in seconds, not enough time for Dr. Eggman to truly realize what's going on, as he's only just now turning around with a confused question on his lips. "Wha—?"

Like a blur, my black-and-red-streaked counterpart moves to dispatch the evil scientist, hitting him point-blank in the back of his round head, knocking him out cold. Watching as he stands over the prone human, his body slightly hunched as lances of Chaos energy flash and dance around his hands like lightning, I figure now would be a good enough time to escape from my bounds as well.

Pulling with fierce strength, I hear the metal groan then finally snap as it gives, causing me to fall and land on the metallic ground in a crouch. I stand slowly, still feeling just a bit weary; nevertheless, I still call out to Shadow when I see him losing his restraint against killing Eggman. I can't in good conscience let him do that, no matter how much I feel like he should be punished for all the vile things he's done.

"Don't, Shadow."

He snaps his head in my direction, allowing me to see the energy inside him dancing like fire in his eyes. It's a magnificent sight as well as a deadly one. "Tell me _one_ good reason why I should let this son of a bitch continue breathing after what he's done! What he did to those people! What he did to _you_ ," he snarls in barely controlled rage, stirring up emotions inside me that I wish to not feel right now.

Turning my gaze downward, I bring my eyes to my golden-buckled shoes as I speak, my tone quiet yet serious all the same. "Because no matter what he's done, a life is a life. And I don't want any blood to stain your hands."

I let my words marinate in the room for a moment before I close my eyes and begin to draw in the chaotic energy that still resides inside the Chaos Emeralds, hoping they'll assist me in repairing all the damage that's been done. "Besides, there are more important things to deal with right now."

Without even looking, I can tell the Emeralds are beginning to circle my body, revolving faster and faster until they're nothing but a white blur. The following explosion of power as they meld with my form isn't nearly as exhilarating as it should be, strangely enough. I open my now fiery eyes to see Shadow gazing at me in open awe.

He snaps out of his daze when I begin to float towards the third circle on the ground, his gaze locking on the brave Seedrian still sealed in place. I easily break her bounds, and Shadow helps her stand, as she appears to be pretty tired.

I begin to explain my plan to my fiercely determined mate once I'm sure Cosmo is okay. "You stay here and watch after Cosmo. And keep Eggman unconscious, too. I'm going to go out there and see if I can put a stop to that 'undefeated' army."

He doesn't like this plan by the look of his frowning visage, but it's the only choice I have. Flying up, I break a hole through the glass, making sure I'm not directly above the two important occupants and take a look outside. It's… horrible. Mobians everywhere are working to near exhaustion on the Doctor's creation with those creepy plant-like sentries watching over their every move. There are… hundreds, maybe even thousands, if I were to go through all the Zones. All of them appear to have no soul with the black hollowness where their eyes should be, every single one following orders like mindless puppets.

The very sight of this desolation puts a daunting weight on my shoulders. "I-I can't do this…" I whisper hopelessly to myself, for the first time in my life feeling overwhelmed by a situation. Usually when I'm in Super form, I feel free, powerful, _unstoppable_ , but right now I feel like I barely have the life energy to even sustain the form. _What is wrong with me?_

"Need any help, boys?" In surprise I look down at the sight of Rouge the Bat, sauntering in like she owns the place, directly towards Shadow and Cosmo.

I float down to their level and inquire urgently, "Rouge, how'd you get here? Do you know about the others?"

She gives me a soft smirk as she places a hand on her hip. "I evaded the capture of those creeps and kept watch on you guys for your brother and Knuckles. They were the ones who put a stop to the Emeralds before. I imagine it took a lot of work," she adds while looking at her nails as if she can see them through her gloves.

I show a relieved smile and see Cosmo's face blossom into a look of joy at the news as well. The rich, smooth intone as Shadow speaks causes my attention to focus solely on him. "I'm glad you and the others made it through this without harm, Rouge. Would you mind watching over things here while I help Sonic with the army?"

Feelings of surprise and gratefulness fill me to the brim as I stare into his unwavering red rubies, even though I try to deny his help smoothly afterwards. "Shads, you don't need to. I'll be—"

His hand cups the side of my muzzle as he steps closer to me, speaking in an unintentional sultry tone, "I want to. Oh, and by the way, you look positively _ravishing_ in this form…"

I unconsciously blush, feeling thankful at the understanding I notice in his red orbs.

His warm hand grasps mine, and I allow the power of the Emeralds to be shared among us, marveling at the light golden tone his fur takes on, that blood red of his fur refusing to change even now. I look over at Cosmo and Rouge, who seem pretty companionable watching our scene unfold. "You sure you'll be okay?"

Rouge takes Cosmo under her arm in a show of ease. "We'll be fine. I can handle this sick _creep_ "—her foot lodges into the unconscious man's stomach—"just fine."

"Good luck, you two," Cosmo wishes to us with a wave.

Shadow and I nod before lifting off, hovering in the night sky like two bright stars. Shadow starts to survey the area as my growing weariness gradually dawns clearly in my mind. I drop a few inches in the air abruptly, snapping back into place when my former obsidian hedgehog speaks. "It appears that the minions are weakening. See," he points out, and my eyes take in how sluggish they move now compared to when I observed them not long ago.

"We should be able to take them out with ease. Us being taken out of the machine must have disrupted their link from our powers. This is too easy," he concludes with a confident smirk in my direction.

I return his gesture, but on the inside I just don't feel all that well. Diving down over the damaged landscape of Emerald Hill, we begin firing concentrated blasts of Chaos Energy at the revolting creations, hearing their sick, twisted screams of agony as they perish in ashes. Cheers break out from the Mobians when they notice our presence; they begin breaking out of the control of the mindless sentries to move into cover from our blasts.

As we fly over the vast Zone, dispatching creatures left and right, the tightening in my chest grows more and more strenuous, causing my breathing to become subtly labored. I lift my hand, feeling the nearly untamable energy gather into my palm as I aim a shot in the direction of a horde of tree-like monsters. As I let the energy go, things suddenly get… _blurry_.

"Sonic!" The warmth of his hand pulling me up straight in the air brings my vision back into focus so that I can see his vibrant eyes staring at me in confusion. "What's wrong?"

I look back where I shot, seeing that it went way off kilter, barely even hitting one of them, before I answer his question. "Yeah, I, uh… just…" I trail off, not sure how to cover up my mistake.

He raises an eyebrow questioningly before letting it go for now. I notice as we continue on how I seem to miss more and more, with Shadow wordlessly picking up my slack. _D-damn. What is happening with me? I feel like… like I c-can't keep going much more like this. Should I tell Shadow…?_ I look over at his blazing form destroying opposition left and right with ease and don't have the heart to worry him. _We're already finished with Emerald Hill and most of Chemical Plant. I can m-make it through this._

Breathing heavily and sagging rather than flying through the air, I halfheartedly shoot at the brown and green minions, knowing that with each shot my vision goes fuzzy.

It happens right when we reach the end of Chemical Plant Zone. Shadow had just taken out an immense amount of enemies with a vicious chuckle. I'd moved to help out like I know I should, expecting the usual fatigue and loss of sight to occur.

I really should start expecting the unexpected.

As I gather the energy like usual, my body suddenly locks up in agony at the sharp pain that surges through my abdomen, and I can't seem to breathe. Power begins to seep from me like water through a strainer. My eyes dull as I fall back through the air; the lively golden color of my fur bleeds back into cobalt blue in a fading light.

Shadow's horrified scream falls on deaf ears.

...

" _—needs help, damn it! If I lose him, so help me God—!"_ an angry deep voice registers in my ears vaguely as I feel myself being moved about.

" _We'll do whatever we can, sir—"_ Abruptly, sound ends, and I fade back into darkness.

...

" _Sir, you can't come in with him. Hospital protocol,"_ a feminine voice says with strained patience.

" _I'm his Chaos Bound! He's going into surgery! I need to be with him,"_ that deep voice from earlier speaks again.

" _Sorry. It might disrupt the—"_

The black void reaches up to claim me again, cocooning me in an empty vastness.

~XxX~

I inhale slowly, a sense of fatigue still buried in my bones as I awaken. The beeping of a heart monitor pulses in my ears in time with my heart, letting me know I'm the person admitted in the hospital. _How did I get here, again? What happened beforehand?_ Foggy memories of fighting alongside Shadow—or more like him doing most of the work—before I passed out enters my mind.

I chuckle dryly for a moment at this. _Things just haven't been going well for me lately, have they?_

"Sonic? Are you awake?"

The question causes my eyes to open and look at the drained form of my mate, sitting by my bedside, clasping my hand like a lifeline.

I squeeze it in reassurance, giving him a soft smile when I respond. "I'm fine, Shads. How long was I out? What happened?"

Suddenly looking like he aged fifty years, he tells me everything I wish to know. "You've been asleep for half a day since your surgery. I brought you in some time last night, and it's almost evening now."

I open my mouth to question exactly what surgery he's going on about, rapidly looking at my body for some kind of mark at the same time. His tightening grip halts my words, and I refocus my attention on his explanation.

"They refused to tell me what type of surgery, just saying that it would be quick and nonfatal. They wanted to wait until you were awake before fully explaining things."

My mouth forms a small "O" in acceptance as I nod. I voice another question that deserves an answer, "Okay, so after I passed out… what happened with the rest of Eggman's army and our friends?"

"Well, I managed to contact your brother through your Wrist Com. and told him what was going on. He and the Echidna agreed to handle the rest of creations while Rouge took the Doctor to a maximum security facility, and Cosmo mentioned she would head back to you place before helping out with repairs. Tails said taking the rest of the army out with the X Tornado should be pretty simple, seeing as the frequency from our powers was disrupted."

He rubs my hand with the back of his thumb as he continues, "The Mobians of this planet are pretty resilient."

My lips curve up in response to that, and I feel happy to know everything seems to be going fine. The sound of a doctor's entrance snaps our head in their direction and halts our conversation.

It's a female feline Mobian, fluffy and mackerel tabby in color, her overall appearance showing exhaustion yet a determination to help. She's wearing an immaculate white coat over her light blue dress, the tip of her bushy tail twitching and peeking out at the bottom. Her light blue eyes gaze down at the chart in her hands with sympathy, the emotion growing when she glances up at us—not at all a good sign.

Her light tone fills the room as she holds the chart to her chest and addresses us directly. "Hello, I'm Dr. Flo, and, first off, I just want to say that I am very sorry for your loss."

My brows furrow as I grip tighter to Shadow's hand holding mine, the pit of my stomach dropping in dread. "What do you mean? Who did we lose?" I turn my confused emerald gaze to see Shadow looking at the doctor in question, his mind trying to figure it out without the aid of the practitioner.

Dr. Flo looks shocked at my words, the sympathy in her eyes now mixing with wordless empathy. _Dear Chaos, what's going on…?_

"Are you guys saying you didn't know…?"

"Could you please cut to the chase and let us in on this big secret?" Shadow demands impatiently, the worry from this situation finally getting to him.

She sighs and brushes the soft bangs from her eyes as she says a sentence that shatters my entire countenance, and the world around me suddenly loses its meaning.

"Sonic, you had a miscarriage."

My heart strains in my chest, the monitor beside me beeping erratically as if to display this fact. I can only seem to stare blankly at the doctor as those five simple words attempt to make a connection in my mind. "That's not true," I say this automatically and quite monotonically as I feel a sort of numbness take over my awareness.

Shadow wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to his warmth as he demands in a cold voice, "I suggest you explain yourself or I'll _find_ a way to get you fired for working him up over something like this."

Although she's compassionate and understanding to our supposed "situation," she still stands tall and doesn't back down to my mate's simmering fury. "I'll have you know, I speak nothing but the truth. Tell me this: have you guys been educated much on mating habits?"

I speak up, after blinking a few times in order to get those words to stop circling my mind over and over again like some sick hypnosis, and tell her the truth. "I've been fighting Eggman most of my life, so I'm more life smart, than book smart." My tone unfortunately is still quiet, controlled.

Shadow seems hesitant in his response, and I almost answer for him, as I know he's hardly been here long enough to know much of anything about Mobius, but the words he speaks actually manages to wring a bit of surprise me in my numbed state. "If I told you my history, you wouldn't believe me, but I did read up on Chaos Bound when I first arrived here. I'll admit that I didn't… finish my study of it, though."

Dr. Flo nods her head knowingly, and those words come back like a haunting echo. _Sonic, you had a miscarriage…a miscarriage… A MISCARRIAGE!_

She opens her furry mouth and begins to slowly and meticulously hammer more nails in the coffin. "Well, I can tell you a brief bit about it. Dominant/Submissive pairs are different than the normal pair of Chaos Bound. They are the only pair who claims each other in a unique way. I see you're sporting your mate's claim bite, which only Submissives adorn."

I raise my hand to the left junction between my neck and shoulder, feeling the teeth marks left in my skin. _So that's what that is…_

She continues knowledgeably, her tone of voice gaining a serious note. "That claim mark is what makes it so that you are able to conceive. You see, Dominate/Submissive pairs don't have the option to reproduce on their own whenever they wish, so this mutation formed to where it can happen… but only once."

I clutch my chest where my heart is desperately as I try not to let her words sink further into my head. _It's not true. It's not true. It's not true._ Over and over again I repeat that phrase frantically as I feel Shadow's grip on me become uncomfortably tight.

"Once? What do you mean by that?" Even Shadow tries to deny her words, although I know he's a creature of logic and will most likely believe what she says in the end.

"Well, the change a Submissive has to go through is very taxing on the body. Sonic had already developed a womb, which is the easiest part to create, but the most difficult is the birthing canal. Temporarily, his anal passage would act as one for only the purpose of if a miscarriage occurred, gaining a slightly slick and sensitive texture at the time," she explains while looking at Shadow to relay the technical information.

I nearly stop breathing at her last sentence. _T-that's why… is that why I felt so different…?_ My vision becomes foggy and I blink persistently to clear it, as I feel burning liquid slowly travel down my muzzle.

"If this change were to keep happening repeatedly, eventually the Submissive wouldn't make it through the childbirth," she finishes with a saddened furrow to her brows.

I try so _hard_ to outrun the overwhelming grief that threatens to befall me, but I can feel it already slipping past the numbness I had as a defense-!

It seems that running won't get me out of this one.

"If I… if I really had a miscarriage, where is the b-baby? How come I didn't see it… or feel it?" I challenge through the chocking lump in my throat as a last defense against her.

She looks at me, showing no signs of wanting to hurt me or win this so-called battle I'm having with her, but she answers honestly anyway in a sad, heartfelt tone. "When you miscarried, you would have noticed bleeding as you passed your child. You probably didn't notice the baby, seeing as it would only be about a quarter of an inch long at this stage of pregnancy."

I clasp a hand over my mouth in horror as I realize the exact moment I lost it: when I was forcefully hit in the stomach by that robot. That's why I felt so empty, why I felt so destroyed. I knew on a deeper level I lost something precious.

I lost my baby.

I turn to Shadow and crumble into the destroyed ruins of my former self, sobbing into the fur of his chest as I imagine our little one left all alone on that cold, monstrous ship, treated like nothing more than spilled blood. _"Shadow! I lost it! O-our—our—"_ I can't continue on as the emotions I'd been feeling all along burst forth like a geyser. Nothing can be denied anymore. Our only chance to have a baby together, and now it's gone.

And it's all _his_ fault.

"Sonic, it's… I'm sorry. I'll do whatever it takes to make this right. Seeing you suffer like this breaks my heart," Shadow whispers to me for only my ears to hear, and I cling to him tighter. I can hear it in his voice, though. He's suffering from this, too. And it's at this moment that I truly realize what Knuckles' message from the Master Emerald meant.

Great loss did follow, but not in the way we thought.

* * *

 ** _To Be Continued In..._ Chaos Bound: Never Give Up**

* * *

...What? Did you guys think I'd leave you on a cliff hanger? Yes, the sequel's already done and beta read by the lovely **Pepper1622**. You guys should really thank her. She's been a lot of help with beta reading this story and the next.

The next story actually won't completely focus on what you guys probably think it will. It takes a more darker tone, especially towards the end, and I really do hope you guys enjoy it. I feel like I pushed my writing skills to the next level on that one, heh. It will be the conclusion. No more sequels or anything.

Because you all have been so lovely-I mean I nearly hit 100 reviews! I never even imagined I'd get that far!-to thank you all, I'll be posting the first chapter _this Friday_ before starting up the usual Monday updates.

Again thank you, thank you, _thank you!_ It means so much! :)


End file.
